Canadian incarceration rate up 2 percent

OTTAWA, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- The number of Canadian adults in jails and prisons rose 2 percent in 2007-2008 to a daily average of 36,300 inmates, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday.

The figures marked the third consecutive annual increase, and the agency said it was driven by the growing number of adults being held in remand in provincial or territorial jails while awaiting trial or sentencing.

During 2007-2008, there were 13,304 offenders in federal prisons, 3 percent more than the previous year, the agency said.

On any given day, there was an average of 2,018 juveniles between 12 and 17 in custody.

The report said 40 percent of inmates were federal offenders serving sentences longer than two years.

Overall, the Canadian adult and youth rate translated to 117 people in custody per 100,000 population, the agency said. By contrast, StatsCan said the United States adult incarceration rate is 762 per 100,000, while Sweden's rate is 74 per 100,000.