SENTENCING ALTERNATIVES

WHAT ARE INTERMEDIATE SANCTIONS? What are some advantages? Saves money

SENTENCING OPTIONS: Absolute discharge Conditional discharge Suspended sentence Intermittent sentence House arrest (EM) Which province was first to use EM? Probation ADULT Max. length YOUTH Max. length “Super probation”10 years - high-risk offenders Intensive probation 1. Absolute discharge- Comes before a judge and the judge says the individual has no discharge. Its like it never happened. Its like a “get out of jail free” card. Key word no criminal record 2. Conditional- individual has to satisfy come discharge. Eg you have to work 70 hours of community service. 3. Suspended- individual is convicted of the offence and has a record. Given no sentence and they has conditions to fulfil and after that they have no sentence. Suspended gets you a record conditional doesn’t . Reserved only for adults (People over the age of 18) 4. Intermittent- when you go to jail but only on weekends. House arrest- goes with electronic monitoring. Can detect a persons whereabout. Doesn’t mean they cant leave their house but they have limits. 5. British colombia, saskachawan and new finland Probation- Mandatory

Probation Mandatory/optional conditions Adult max length 3years Youth max length 2years Dual roles of probation officers “super probation” 10 years – high risk offenders. Intensive probation- see probation officer more frequently. Many times a week. Offenders are subjective to drug tests, analysis with no idea they are coming. A bigger version of the last slide on probation with answers.

What happens to a probationer who, “without reasonable excuse, fails or refuses to comply” with a condition?? Charged with ??? Charged with breach of probation Hybrid offence Indictable – 2years imprisonment Summary conviction – 18 months imprisonment

Other sentencing options Restitution - repaying. goes to the victim. Repayment of money, returning a stolen good, or repaying it either by helping victim. Community service- fulfilling options at eg hockey arena, or recycling program within the city

THE FINE Must pay w/i specified amount of time Statutory maximums outlined in CC Summary offence: Max. $2000 ($25 000 for corporation) Young offender: Max. $1000 Indictable offence: Max. no upper limit Mandatory minimum 1st conviction DUI: $300 Watched a youtube video- Scared straight 1978

ARE FINES FAIR?? Judge may have little knowledge of ability to pay Ability to pay may be included in pre-sentence report 1 in 5 admissions to jail result of inability to pay fine Affects minority groups/aboriginals the most Fine option program (2 years) when individual is performing community program and eventually your fine will be squared off Finland’s approach : reflective of the individuals income. Different fines.

OTHER SENTENCING OPTIONS? Restitution Community service

SCARED STRAIGHT PROGRAMS: EFFECTIVE?

WHAT IS A CONDITIONAL SENTENCE? Created by Bill C-41 – 1996 Sentence served in the community Imposed where: Court imposes sentence of less than 2 years imprisonment Criminal code does not set a minimum prison term Sentence would not endager the safety of the community and would be consistent with the fundamental principles of sentencing Mandatory and optional Average length: 8 months

THE CONDITIONAL SENTENCE: EFFECTIVE OR NOT? Steady increase in use Popular among judges and controversial amongst society What are the advantages and disadvantages of conditional sentencing for: The criminal justice system The offender The victim The criminal justice system 1. Advantages Saves money Allows for easier rehabilitation Simply having less people in jail 2. Disadvantages Community losing faith in the justice system Minimize crime Sends the message that certain crimes are not taken seriously OFFENDER a. More liberty. Not in prison b. Not isolated. Contributing to the society c. Closer to resources, friends, family a. Limitation to what you can do b. Challenging to individual cus he/she should break the law unless he would serve the remaining sentence in jail c. Individual becoming a victim of people physically hurting them or verbally VICTIM Satisfied with the decision cus the person has a record Payback and contributing to the society If you know the person you wouldn’t want him to go to jail so it is a happy medium (I don’t know if those last 2 are advantages or disadvantages) Help facilitate reintegration Re-victimization

HMMM. . . How should we treat those who commit crimes as a result of a drug problem?? More lenient? More harsh? The same??

SPECIALIZED COURTS: DRUG TREATMENT COURTS Main goal is to eliminate drug use and related criminal activities Based on idea that CJ can be therapeutic rather than punitive Offenders serve sentence in community under the supervision of the courts Introduced in the US? First DTC in Canada?

ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS MUST: Successful completion: Unsuccessful completion:

YOU BE THE JUDGE

WHEN DECIDING ON A SENTENCE. . . Keep in mind the purposes, objectives and goals of sentencing Remember that there are various sentencing options and a split sentence is an option Mitigating and aggravating factors should be taken into consideration