Statement of Issue:
The purpose of this memo is to present options to improve on the issue of over-crowding in jails by paying attention to the remand population and community based alternatives to incarceration.
Background:
There are different community-based alternatives to incarceration. In Canada, some of the alternative measures are restorative justice, conditional release and conditional sentencing.
In 1996, conditional sentencing was introduced to the Canadian justice system as a part of review of the criminal code. It was introduced due to excessive use of imprisonment in a facility. Conditional sentencing allows the offender to serve in a community rather than at a correctional facility. To be eligible for conditional sentencing, the judge must be convinced that the offender isn’t a threat to the society. This allows those who committed minor crimes not to be sent to jail and prevent over-crowding. According to the fundamental principle of …show more content…
The ‘Truth in Sentencing Act was introduced in 2009. The Act amended the Criminal Code which states the rate of credit judges were permitted to give prisoners for time served before the prisoners’ trials. The act changed the credit from two days for every pre-trial day to 1.5 days. Prior to the amendment, convicted offenders facing sentencing have often been given credit for time served in remand. The length of time served in remand as well as the physical conditions of an individual's stay in remand was an eligibility to grant the two days credit for every day spent in remand According to the judges, life in remand centers is different as some are overcrowded and prisoners are living in harsh condition. Although the enhanced credit was introduced to as to be fair on offenders that were not granted bail or early release, it is also a way of reducing population in prisons as the inmates get to serve shorter term and leave
The purpose of this memo is to present options to improve on the issue of over-crowding in jails by paying attention to the remand population and community based alternatives to incarceration.
Background:
There are different community-based alternatives to incarceration. In Canada, some of the alternative measures are restorative justice, conditional release and conditional sentencing.
In 1996, conditional sentencing was introduced to the Canadian justice system as a part of review of the criminal code. It was introduced due to excessive use of imprisonment in a facility. Conditional sentencing allows the offender to serve in a community rather than at a correctional facility. To be eligible for conditional sentencing, the judge must be convinced that the offender isn’t a threat to the society. This allows those who committed minor crimes not to be sent to jail and prevent over-crowding. According to the fundamental principle of …show more content…
The ‘Truth in Sentencing Act was introduced in 2009. The Act amended the Criminal Code which states the rate of credit judges were permitted to give prisoners for time served before the prisoners’ trials. The act changed the credit from two days for every pre-trial day to 1.5 days. Prior to the amendment, convicted offenders facing sentencing have often been given credit for time served in remand. The length of time served in remand as well as the physical conditions of an individual's stay in remand was an eligibility to grant the two days credit for every day spent in remand According to the judges, life in remand centers is different as some are overcrowded and prisoners are living in harsh condition. Although the enhanced credit was introduced to as to be fair on offenders that were not granted bail or early release, it is also a way of reducing population in prisons as the inmates get to serve shorter term and leave