The New-Brunswick Aboriginal Duty Counsel Project

9. OFFENCE TYPES

The people in the sample were charged with about twenty different offences, the vast majority of which fell into a few offence categories. More than half of all offences are made up of only three offence categories. Seventy-five percent of all offences comprise only five offences.  This is not atypical. Most criminal offences tend generally to fall into a small number of offence categories.

Table 9.1: Most Serious Offences
Offence Number Percent Cumulative Percent
Assault 43 29.5 % 32.5 %
Motor vehicle 27 15.5 % 48.0 %
Mischief 12 8.2 % 56.2 %
Break and Enter/ Possession 15 10.7 % 66.9 %
Breach of Probation 10 6.8 % 73.7 %
Sexual Assault 4 2.7 % 76.4 %
Uttering Threats 4 2.7 % 79.1 %
Other 31 19.9 % 100.0 %

Many offences would not meet the normal legal aid coverage provisions. Most notably, motor vehicle offences make up nearly 15 % of all offences. The "other" category includes 15 provincial offences, about 5 % of the total, that would not be covered by legal aid.