CANADA’S PRISON SYSTEM

Entering Prison• Prison/Incarceration is a very polarizing issue. It is also a very political

issue

• Conservative rhetoric- more jails, more sentences, throw people in jail• Liberal rhetoric- protect the public by looking at the causes of crime,

treat all people humanely

• #1: (post 2005) Prisoners should remain in prison for as long as possible (classical criminal theory)

• #2: Offenders are partially shaped by society therefore the prison system should work to rehabilitate them (sociological and other various modern theories)

Entering Prison• CSC (Correctional Services Canada) controls the prison

system (provincial and federal jurisdiction)

• Provincial- serve less than 2 years (or awaiting trial)

• Federal- serve more than 2 years

• Correctional service regulations are controlled provincially- this mean each province can have its own corrections regulations (why?)

• CSC is responsible for the following: incarcerating, processing parole applications and running probations services

Provincial/Federal Jails• Provincial Institutions:- Closed custody- dangerous offenders, likely to escape, or are hard to

manage- http://

www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/english/corr_serv/ProposedTorontoSouthDetentionCentre/Toronto_South_DC_main.html

- Open custody- inmates are allowed an opportunity to work

- Community Correctional Centers- inmates can work, go to school by day and return at night

• http://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/english/corr_serv/adult_off/facilities/corr_centres/corr_centres.html#cecc

• Maximum, Medium and Minimum security

How are Inmates Assigned?• After sentencing offenders are assessed for their level of risk

and their need for rehabilitation

• Risk of escape is considered

• Availability of rehab

• Location of offender’s family, culture and language is considered

• Those convicted of 1st or 2nd degree murder must serve 2 years at a maximum security prison before applying to a lower facility

Imprisonment• 123 people per 100,000 incarcerated

• Non-violent crimes are most common

• On any given day in Canada there are 152, 800 adults incarcerated, on parole, probation or serving a conditional sentence

• 2000- correctional spending reached 2.5 billion

• The average adult incarcerated is a male, aged 18-24

• It costs $67,700 a year to keep an offender in a federal penitentiary• It costs $14, 500 to supervise on parole