Pubdate: Thu, 12 Oct 2006
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2006 Southam Inc.
Contact:  http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Author: Meagan Fitzpatrick, CanWest News Service

TEMPORARY DETENTION SOARED IN PAST DECADE, STATCAN
reports

WINNIPEG - Canada's provincial prison population has shifted 
dramatically over the past decade, according to figures released 
yesterday by Statistics Canada, with fewer people sentenced to jail 
time and more in temporary custody.

For the first time, in 2004-05, the number of adults held on remand 
or other temporary detention and the number of sentenced offenders 
were virtually equal.

On an average day, about 9,800 adults were being held in sentenced 
custody in provincial or territorial jails, and slightly more -- 
9,900 -- were being held while awaiting trial, sentencing or another 
form of temporary detention.

It was a far different picture 10 years earlier, when the number of 
adults on remand accounted for only 28% of the total number behind 
bars. But since 1995-96, remand counts have risen 83%, Statistics 
Canada said in its report.

The trend is discouraging, says Graham Stewart, executive director of 
the John Howard Society of Canada, a research and advocacy 
organization focused on the justice system.

"I would like to see a serious national review of the use of remand 
in Canada, to get a handle on it," he said in an interview.

He said people are supposed to be presumed innocent until proven 
guilty and should only be held if certain criteria are met, such as 
when the person poses a risk to public safety.

Mr. Stewart thinks the criteria have changed over the years and 
remand is being used inappropriately.

While the population in remand custody grows, the number of sentenced 
offenders in provincial or territorial jails has been going down. The 
average number of sentenced offenders in 2004-05 was 31% below the 
level a decade earlier.

Statistics Canada attributes the shift to several factors. For one, 
changes in bail practices and policies could affect the probability 
of bail being denied, which in turn increases the remand population.

"Cases in Canada's adult criminal courts have also become more 
complex and are taking more time to resolve, increasing the length of 
stay for adults in remand while they await trial and/or sentencing," 
the report stated.

Not only are more people being held in remand, they are being held longer.

The conditional sentencing option has also been a factor in the 
shifting prison population, the report said.

Some offenders who would have otherwise been admitted to serve their 
sentence in jail instead served a conditional sentence in the community.

Federal Justice Minister Vic Toews and Public Safety Minister 
Stockwell Day have said Ottawa plans to introduce legislation that, 
if passed, will put more people behind bars and keep them there longer.

Mr. Stewart says prisons are already in poor condition and 
overcrowded and the courts already backlogged.

On any given day in 2004-05 there were 152,600 adults under the 
supervision of either federal, provincial or territorial correctional 
service agencies -- a 1% drop from the previous year.

Anyone sentenced to two years or longer serves their time in a federal prison.
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