ORIGIN AND NATIVITY OF REFORMATORY POPULATION 179

The assumption is not warranted, however, that the corrected crime rate for immigrants
from every foreign country is approximately half as large again as that for the®*Canadian
born. In fact, the subsequent analysis of reformatory and penitentiary population suggest
that such is not the case. Some nationalities probably show as small, if not smaller proportions
 convicted of indictable cffences than do the Canadian born of all origins, while
others show much larger proportions. Unfortunately, available data are not adequate to
push the analysis further in connection with indictable offences, but the more exhaustive
examination of reformatory and penitentiary population below throws much light on the
question.
ORIGIN AND NATIVITY OF THE REFORMATORY POPULATION
The census data covering the population in reformatories for Canada, as on June 1,
1921, have been analysed and throw considerable direct light on the criminal tendencies of
the youth of Canada. Information as to origin, birthplace and sex has been tabulated, and
the most important facts are presented in Tables 111 and 112.
Sex and Birthplace—Table 111 shows the total reformatory population classified as
Canadian born, other British born and Foreign born and by sex. It is seen in the first place
that less than a fifth as many girls as boys between the ages of 10 and 20 are in reformartories,
and the proportions are remarkably uniform irrespective of birthplace. Thus whether the
young people are born in Canada, in other parts of the British Empire or in foreign
countries, only a comparatively small proportion of girls commit offences which result in their
detention in reformatories, while much larger numbers of boys get into such trouble that
they are taken from their homes and committed to the discipline of a state institution.
This differential character of the criminal propensity is a matter of common knowledge, and
persists in adult life. However, the number in reformatories is not by any means an
accurate index as to difference in behaviour between the sexes, for it is probable that a
youth would be committed to a reform institution much more readily than a young woman
for an equally serious offence. There is no doubt, however, that a great difference does
exist, and the point is merely that the percentages in reformatories slightly overemphasize it.
A second inference follows directly upon the uniformity of the proportions irrespective
of place of birth; when large numbers of boys commit offences large numbers of girls in the
same broad nativity group also commit them and vice versa. This point is made clearer
on referring to the lower part of the table. It is seen that 113 out of every 100,000 Canadian
born between the ages of 10 and 20 are in reformatories, that the rate is 215 per 100,000 for
the British born and 213 per 100,000 for the foreign born. A marked difference thus appears
between the proportions of Canadian born on the one hand and British born and foreign
born on the other. Now an analysis of Table 67, Vol. II of the Census, shows that the
differences in the proportion of the sexes as between the Canadian, British and Foreign born
population 10-20 years of age are negligible, so that direct comparison of the above rates is
not invalidated by considerations of sex distribution. It is thus safe to conclude that the
high figures for the British and foreign born are not due to especially bad behaviour on the
part of the boys any more than on the part of the girls. They are equally culpable. On the
other hand, the low rate for the Canadian born is due to the good behaviour of both the
young men and the young women born in this country. It is interesting thst our analysis
gives definite evidence of the fact that in so far as such broad nativity classes have any
reality as population groups, where the boys are well-behaved so are the girls, and where
the boys are badly behaved the girls are also unruly.
A further word should be said about the rates for the British and foreign born. They
are nearly double that for the Canadian born. Yet, just as the proportion in the reformatories
 is not an accurate index of the behaviour as between the two sexes, 80 it is not a
fair criterion of conduct as between the British and foreign born and the Canadian born.
The reason is somewhat similar. It is probable in many cases that a foreign born youth
would be committed to a reformatory more readily than a Canadian bom or a
British born child, because the court is less certain that the necessary correction will be
administered in a home where the parents have come from a foreign land and presumably
are not as conversant with Canadian ideals or standards as parents of Canadian and British
birth.
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