![]() Thus, the figures expressed at the end of this story as “totals” are largely potential savings to governments and society as a whole, but may also implicate private individuals and companies. For example, although it is clear that costs to taxpayers include the costs of a police call for service or housing an inmate in a correctional facility, the costs of criminal offences such as damage to property or assault are also absorbed by victims (pain and suffering, loss of productivity) and third parties (e.g., insurance companies). While the majority of these costs are public in nature (e.g., criminal justice, health, education, social services, etc.), a few are private as well. It is important to point out that the costs accrued across Tyler's life course touch on different societal sectors. Tyler's experiences are used to highlight the most common risk factors that affect Canadian youth who become involved in crime, and his life path represents one of many possible outcomes commonly seen in adolescent offenders. In this story, Tyler represents the prototypical adolescent offender in Canada. The following story is fictional and does not depict any real persons or events. Fortunately, the identification of risk factors related to criminal offending allows us to develop and target effective interventions to reduce an individual's overall risk of becoming involved in crime. However, the more risk factors an individual presents, the greater the probability that he or she will become involved in crime. Not all individuals exposed to these factors become involved in crime. ![]() Researchers have identified a number of risk factors that have been shown to predict criminal offending later in life, such as early behavioural problems and family conflict Note 1. These characteristics are called risk factors. Research tells us that certain characteristics increase a person's likelihood of becoming entrenched in crime. However, a small portion of the population continues to commit crimes into adulthood. Most people eventually outgrow these behaviours and go on to become responsible, productive members of society. Studies have shown that the majority of Canadians engage in some form of delinquent behaviour during adolescence. This represents approximately 4% of the Canadian youth population aged 12-17 years old (Statistics Canada, 2015). The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Public Safety Canada.Ĭorrespondence concerning this report should be addressed to:Įmail: 2014, 94,145 young people were accused of a violation of the Criminal Code of Canada (Boyce, 2015). ![]() Three evidence-based interventions are also provided to illustrate the potential cost savings by investing in crime prevention at critical junctures of Tyler's youth, and to highlight the importance of intervening early and often in the life of disadvantaged or at-risk youth. The direct costs associated with Tyler's life of crime range from a court appearance by police ($239 CAD) to a 5-year federal prison sentence ($550,000 CAD) and total over $1,400,000 CAD by the time Tyler reaches the age of 30. Using cost estimates from Canada, the US, and Australia, average costs are affixed to events in Tyler's life and tallied for a grand total cost of his crimes. The account does not depict any real persons or events, but serves as an illustrative example of a prototypical adolescent offender in Canada. The fictional account of Tyler was developed to illustrate the compounding influence of risk factors on the pathway to criminal offending.
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