Parole: Contributing to Public Safety (Continued)

5. Criminal Justice System: The Role of Parole

Q.  What is the National Parole Board and what is its role in the criminal justice system?

A.  The Board is an administrative tribunal that has exclusive authority under the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA) to grant, deny, cancel, terminate or revoke parole, or to detain offenders subject to statutory release in certain circumstances. The Board may impose special (or additional) conditions during an offender's release, such as remaining in a specified geographical area, abstaining from alcohol and staying away from criminal associates. These Board imposed conditions are used to mitigate risk factors and facilitate an offender's successful reintegration into the community.

The CCRA and its regulations direct the National Parole Board to make conditional release decisions for offenders in federal and territorial institutions. The Board also makes parole decisions in provinces that do not maintain their own parole boards. Ontario and Québec are the only provinces with their own parole boards.

In addition, the Board makes decisions on whether to issue, grant, deny or revoke a pardon under the Criminal Records Act (CRA) and makes clemency recommendations to the Minister of Public Safety Canada, who submits the recommendations to Cabinet.

The National Parole Board does not have jurisdiction over young offenders (younger than 18 years of age) unless tried as adults in an adult court, or over offenders serving only intermittent sentences (weekends).

Q.  Who are Board members?

A.  Board Members are men and women from across Canada who are committed to excellence in corrections and conditional release. As a group, the members bring a wide range of professional experience from such fields as corrections, policing, psychology, and law, as well as business, social and community work.

All notices of vacancies for full-time and part-time Board Members' positions are advertised in the Canada Gazette, which outlines the criteria and qualifications each member must possess. The National Parole Board provides input to the appointment process by screening and interviewing selected candidates, then providing recommendations to the Minister of Public Safety Canada. Ultimately, Board Member appointments are a Cabinet decision.

Q.  Does the court have anything more to do with the person after sentencing?

A.  Not in most cases. After conviction, if the court orders the incarceration of an offender for a certain amount of time, either federal or provincial correctional authorities administer the sentence. The court may become re-involved if an offender, having served 15 years of a life sentence for first or second-degree murder, applies for a Judicial Review under Section 745 of the Criminal Code.

A Judicial Review allows certain offenders serving life sentences to apply to have their parole eligibility date reduced. Upon receipt of an offender's application for Judicial Review, the Chief Justice of the province where the conviction took place must designate a judge on the High Court of Justice to empanel a Provincial Superior Court jury of 12 persons. During the hearing, the jury must consider the character of the applicant, the circumstances of the offence for which the person was convicted and the conduct while serving the sentence. The jury must be unanimous in its decision. It may change the parole eligibility date to anywhere between 15 and 25 years, or deny any reduction, whereby an offender may reapply at a later date. The eligibility date cannot be reduced below 15 years.

The court may, at sentencing, order persons found to be a "long-term offender" to be supervised in the community by CSC for a period not exceeding ten years following the sentence expiry date. The long-term supervision order is subject to conditions fixed by the NPB. If a breach of conditions occur, the CSC parole officer may suspend the offender and the case may be referred to the NPB. The Board may, following an assessment, recommend that an information be laid (charges) with the provincial/territorial Attorney General charging the offender with an offence under section 753.3 of the Criminal Code. LTSO provision is aimed specifically at high-risk violent sex offenders.

Q.  Does the National Parole Board make judicial review decisions?

A.  No. The Board has no role in the judicial review process. Furthermore, if the jury decides to reduce the parole eligibility date of an offender, the decision does not mean that the offender will automatically be released on parole. The offender must still apply for parole through the regular process. The case would then be reviewed by the Board which, upon a thorough assessment of the risk, will decide whether the offender will be granted parole.

Q.  Are the police involved with the offender after the trial?

A.  The police provide information for assessment when the offender is admitted to a penitentiary and when the offender is being considered for conditional release. The police are notified of any conditional or statutory release. In most cases, an offender will have to report regularly to both the parole supervisor and the police. Of course, the police would become involved if the offender is suspected of any further criminal activity, and the Board is also notified.

Q.  After sentencing, who is responsible for the offender?

A.  If the sentence is imprisonment there are two possibilities:

The Correctional Service of Canada is responsible for the administration of sentences for offenders serving two years or more; or

If the sentence is less than two years, the correctional service of the province or territory where the trial was held is responsible for the administration of the sentence and determines the institution in which the offender will serve the sentence.

An inmate may be transferred from one institution to another for security or program-related reasons.

The federal and provincial criminal justice systems have "exchange of service" agreements. These agreements may allow an offender to serve all or part of a sentence in a provincial institution, even when serving more than two years, or in a federal institution if serving less than two years.

Q.  What part does the Correctional Service of Canada play?

A.  The Correctional Service of Canada is responsible for:

• the care, custody and control of offenders during imprisonment;
• providing programs that contribute to the successful return of offenders to the community as law-abiding citizens;
• providing the National Parole Board with case information and recommendations to assist it in release decisions;
• some conditional release decision-making authority, i.e. work releases, escorted and unescorted temporary absences; and
• supervising offenders on parole, statutory release and Long Term Supervision Order.

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