Web resource:	http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/csj-sjc/crime/rr04_6/rr04_6.pdf
Type:	Report
Title:	Criminal justice outcomes in intimate and non-intimate partner homicide cases
Authors:	Dawson, Myrna
Keywords:	Criminal justice responses;Homicide;Statistics
Year:	2004
Publisher:	Research and Statistics Division Dept. of Justice Canada, Ottawa
Notes:	This Canadian report compares criminal justice outcomes in cases of intimate partner homicide to outcomes in non-intimate partner homicides. It seeks to address 2 questions: Homicide data in a single, urban jurisdiction of Toronto from 1997 to 2002 were collected and homicide data from 1974 to 1996 formed part of an earlier project. These 2 data sets were then used for comparisons. From 1974 to 2002, there were 1,612 reported homicides in Toronto City. For the 1,324 solved homicides, 1,137 were charged and among this group, some 230 (20%) were charged with killing an intimate partner and 907 (80%) were charged with killing victims with more distant relationships. Eight criminal justice outcomes were studied: initial prosecution charge; the mode of conviction; verdict at trial; type of acquittal; overall likelihood of conviction; severity of conviction; and type and length of sentence. Key findings with regard to the first research question include: at the initial charging stage, accused persons who killed intimate partners were significantly less likely to be charged with first-degree murder than those who killed victims with more distant relationships; cases that involved intimate partner killings were more likely to plead guilty; out of the cases that were resolved at trial, those accused of killing intimate partners were more likely to be found guilty than those accused of killing non-intimates; accused persons who killed intimate partners were more likely to be convicted due largely to the greater likelihood that they were more likely to plead guilty. Key findings with regard to the second research question include: over time (1974-1983 and 1984-2002), guilty pleas remained common in cases of intimate partner homicide; in the early period, of those cases that resolved at trial, those accused of killing intimate partners were less likely to be found guilty; the earlier period also had those who killed intimate partners as less likely than those who killed non-intimate partners to be convicted; accused persons in cases of intimate partner homicide were less likely to be convicted of murder (first or second degree) in the early period but this was not the case for the more recent period. The findings support that changes have taken place in the way intimacy is treated in the courts and these changes seem to parallel the increasing awareness about intimate violence as a social issue. It also found that there are no national data sources available in Canada to link information on victim, accused and offence characteristics to criminal justice outcomes. Future research areas are discussed.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/19239
Physical description:	xi, 78 p.
Appears in Collections:	Reports

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