BackThe 41st Annual Report of the Office of the Correctional Investigator was tabled in Parliament on 08 October 2014. The report contains a special focus on safe and timely community reintegration of federally sentenced offenders.
In his report, the Correctional Investigator, Mr. Howard Sapers notes that most inmates will be released from prison and that it is up to the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) to ensure they are properly prepared for their return. “Time spent in prison should be about constructively addressing needs, risks and behaviours that lead to crime,” said Sapers. “Prison programs that upgrade the educational, employability and vocational skills of inmates significantly enhance the prospects of living crime-free when returned to the community.”
The report details a number of factors that run contrary to safe and timely reintegration. For example, more offenders are staying longer in higher security penitentiaries where access to programs is most restricted. The majority of offenders are now returned to the community by way of statutory release at two-thirds point of the sentence versus conditional release (parole). Use of force interventions, inmate assaults, segregation placements, involuntary transfers and self-injurious incidents are trending upward leading to conditions of detention that are less conducive to safe reintegration. “Returning offenders to the community who are embittered by their incarceration experience instead of provided opportunities for positive change is not in anyone’s interest. We know that timely interventions followed by graduated and structured release is less costly and more successful than releasing an offender directly from prison with limited or no period of supervision,” stated Sapers.
For more information, please see the attached News Release or visit the Office of the Correctional Investigator's website.
Source: Correctional Investigator, CANADA
