TEST 3 Flashcards
Corrections can be defined as the
structure, policies, and programs delivered by governments, not-for-profit organizations, and members of the general public to sanction, punish, treat and supervise in the community and in correctional institutions, persons convicted of criminal offences.
All correctional systems have both
non-carceral (non-institutional) and carceral (institutional) components
Non-carceral corrections
- community corrections
- alternatives to confinement (diversion programs, probation)
- programs for offenders released from correctional institutions
Carceral corrections
- jails and correctional institutions operated by the provinces and territories and the federal government
Absolute/Conditional Discharges
- - Section 730(1) of the criminal code (R.S.C. 1985, C. C-46) states that the presiding judge may discharge an offender in cases where an accused person either pleads guilty or is found guilty for an offence except when
- there is a mandatory minimum sentence, or
- the offence is punishable by a term of imprisonment for a period 14 years to life
Suspended sentence
- Convicted offenders who receive a suspended sentence are provided with the opportunity to avoid incarceration by abiding by conditions of a probation order for a period from one to three years
- upon completion of the period of supervision, the offender will have a criminal record (Which distinguishes suspended sentences from a conditional discharge)
Fines
Offenders can receive monetary punishments through the imposition of fines. Section 734(2) of the Criminal Code specifies that
- the offender must have the ability to pay a fine and
- the fine is proportionate to the offence
Diversion
programs that are designed to keep offenders from being processed further into the formal criminal justice system
- reduce costs
- minimize social stigmatization
- assist offenders In addressing the specific factors related to their offending
– attending an alcohol or drug treatment program
– completing a number of community service hours
– other requirements
Victim offender mediation programs
- take a restorative approach
- victim and offender provided with the opportunity to express their feelings and concerns
- neutral mediator helps resolve the conflict
- address the consequences of the offence
- create understanding for each other
Net-widening
- persons who would otherwise have been released outright by the police, or not charged by Crown counsel, now become involved in the justice system because of various diversion programs
- a potential, unanticipated consequence
- diversion programs can be coercive and punitive
Conditional sentences
Section 742 of the criminal code states that a convicted person who would otherwise be incarcerated for less than 2 years can be sentenced to a conditional term of imprisonment
- to be served in the community
- required to fulfill certain conditions
- not on probation
- failure to comply results in offender being returned to court
Probation
Section 731 of the criminal code provides that, in cases in which no minimum penalty is prescribed, the sentencing judge may place the offender on probation for a period of up to 3 years
- as part of a conditional discharge (mandatory)
- as a condition of a suspended sentence (mandatory)
- as part of an intermittent sentence (mandatory)
- as a sentence on its own (the most common)
- following a prison term of two years or less
- in conjunction with a conditional sentence
Probation falls under the authority of the
provinces and territories, each jurisdiction has developed its own procedures and standards for recruiting and training probation officers
applicants for probation officer positions require
- university degree
- strong verbal and written communication skills
- case management and supervision
- problem solving skills
the activities of probation officers largely involve
- assessing clients with respect to their needs and the risks they pose
- providing individualized case management with the objective of reducing criminal behaviour and,
- supervising offenders on probation as well as persons who have been released on bail while awaiting trial
2 years less a day
from federal prison to provincial prison
Probation officers - role and responsibilities
- assessment
- identify the offender’s needs, evaluate risk, and assist in formulating a plan of supervision
- prepare pre-sentence reports (PSRs) on adult offenders who have been convicted and are submitted to the presiding judge at sentencing
Probation officers- role and responsibilities
- supervision
- establish and maintain rapport, considering the risk and needs of the offender, and adjust the balance between control and assistance as required
Dual role of probation officers
- Assisstance and support
- help the offender address issues that have contributed to the offence
- identify resources in the community such as treatment programs, courses and services
Dual role of probation officers
- Enforce conditions of probation order
- ensure compliance with the general and specific conditions of the probation order
Strategic training initiative in community supervision (STICS)
- STICS focuses on the RNR principles
- teaches probation officers ways to utilize those principles when supervising probationers
- attention to criminogenic factors such as relationships with peers and criminal thinking patterns
- centred on relationships building and establishing trust
- probation officer assumes role of change agent
RNR principles
Risk Principle
Need Principle
Responsivity principle
Intensive supervision probation (ISP) entails
- increased surveillance of probationers
- various treatment interventions
- efforts to ensure that offenders are employed
- reduced caseloads for probation officers, and
- is used primarily with youth offenders
challenges faced by probation officers
- occupational stress
- supervising high-risk and high-need probationers
- heavy workloads and high caseloads
- limited in-person contact with probationers
- probation services in northern and remote communities
- supervising a diverse clientele
Electronic monitoring
- is used by provincial and territorial systems of corrections and correctional service canada to monitor offenders who are under supervision in the community
- imposed by the sentencing judge
- a condition of early release from incarceration
- ensures public safety while at the same time allowing offender to remain in the community
The first penitentiary in canada opened in
1835 in Kingston, Ontario
- influenced by U.S. developments
- overcrowding in the local jails
- corporal punishment considered improper and degrading
- was the largest public building in upper canada
- symbolized a moral architecture, reflected the themes of order and morality
- based on the Aburn System
Early models of prisons in the U.S. and Canada reflected an attempt to
create settings in which criminals could be transformed into useful citizens through religious contemplation and hard work
Prison models
- Pennsylvania model
- a “separate and silent” system in which prisoners were completely isolated from one another, eating, working, and sleeping in separate cells
Prison models
- Auburn model
- a system where prisoners worked and ate together during the day and were housed in individual cells at night
Federal corrections
- operated by correctional service canada (CSC)
- for offenders serving a sentence of 2 or more years
- headquartered in Ottawa
- five regions: Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario, prairie, and pacific
- operates federal penitentiaries, halfway houses, healing lodges and treatment centres for indigenous offenders, community parole offices, psychiatric hospitals, reception and assessment centres, healthcare centres, palliative care units and an addiction research centre
Provincial and territorial corrections
- 96% of convicted offenders receive sentences that place them in provincial/territorial facilities
- provincial and territorial governments operate correctional facilities and remand centres
- the provinces also operate specialized institutions for offenders with severe mental health issues
Types of correctional institutions
- Minimum security
- Medium security
- Maximum security
Minimum
- no perimeter fencing
- unrestricted inmate movement except at night
Medium
- high-security perimeter fencing
- some restrictions on inmate movement
Maximum
- high-security perimeter fencing
- highly controlled environment
- inmate movement strictly monitored and controlled
Correctional facility security
- static security
- dynamic security
Static
- fixed security apparatuses in correctional institutions
- perimeter fencing, video surveillance, alarms, fixed securing posts, control rooms, and position posts
Dynamic
- ongoing interaction, beyond observation, between correctional officers and inmates
- working and speaking with inmates, making suggestions, providing information, and being proactive
Rule of law
Duty to act fairly
- Rule of law: the requirement that government, as well as individuals, be subjected to an abide by the law
- Duty to act fairly: the obligation of correctional authorities to ensure that offenders are treated fairly by corrections personnel
Prisons are what sociologists Erving Gofman referred to as total institutions
-correctional institutions, Psychiatric hospitals, and other facilities characterized by a highly structured environment in which all movements of the inmates or patients are controlled 24 hours a day by staff
Continuum of correctional institutions
the differences in institutional environments among correctional institutions located at either end of the security spectrum- maximum to minimum
the “split personality of corrections”:
prisons are asked to pursue conflicting goals; confinement and control, but also reform and rehabilitation
offenders confined in correctional institutions tend to be
male, young, single, poorly educated, and marginally skilled
- dispropritionaly indigenous or black
- are likely to have a history of unstable lives
- many have grown up in dysfunctional families
- problem-solving skills are minimal
- high rates of alcohol and drug problems
- unstable work histories
- high rates of communicable diseases
- have a variety of treatment needs
persons on remand outnumber
those in sentenced custody; high security institutions with minimal programs and services
women inmates
- fewer female offenders than male offenders
- indigenous overrepresentation is even worse among women than men
- as with male offenders, females often have a marginalized background of poverty, alcohol and/or drug dependency, limited education and minimal employment skills
- pathways to crime are distinct from male inmates and they require gender-specific programs and interventions
Women inmates have
- higher % have suffered sexual and physical abuse before incarceration
- human rights may have been violated
- housed in facilities that are far from their home communities
- may be responsible for children or stepchildren
- three in four have children under the age of 18
- almost all were single caregivers at the time of the arrest
- generally have greater physical and mental health needs
- high rates of eating disorders, depression and sleep disorders
- x as likely as male inmates to have been hospitalized for psychiatric reasons and to have mental health issues
- at high risk of self-injurious behaviour
managing indigenous inmates presents unique challenges because
of the challenges they themselves have had to face.