Parole: Contributing to Public Safety (Continued)

6. Types of Release

Q.  What are the different types of conditional release?

A.  The types of conditional release include the following: temporary absence (escorted and unescorted), day parole, full parole, and statutory release.

Temporary absence:  A temporary absence is usually the first type of release an offender will be granted. With or without escort, temporary absences may be granted for various reasons, including for work in community service projects, contact with the family, personal development, or medical reasons.

Day parole:  Day parole allows offenders to participate in community-based activities to prepare for release on full parole or statutory release. Offenders on day parole must return nightly to a community based residential facility or halfway house unless otherwise authorized by the National Parole Board.

Full Parole:  Full parole is granted at the discretion of the National Parole Board after a throrough risk assessment. Full parole allows an offender to live in the community in his/her own accomodation. The offender is subject to strict conditions, providing the offender with an opportunity to demonstrate that they can be a law-abiding member of society.

Statutory Release:  By law, most federal inmates must be released with supervision after serving two-thirds of their sentence. Offenders serving life or indeterminate sentences are not eligible for statutory release.

Q.  Is statutory release the same as parole?

A.  No. Contrary to parole, which is a discretionary decision made by the National Parole Board, most federal inmates are released automatically by law on statutory release after serving two-thirds of their sentence if they have not already been released on parole. While subject to statutory release, offenders are supervised in the community and will be returned to prison if they are believed to present an undue risk to public safety.

Q.  Does the National Parole Board have authority to grant statutory release?

A.  No. Statutory release is a legal requirement. However, the Board may add certain conditions to contribute to the protection of society. It may also revoke a release if there is a breach of a condition or detain an offender in certain circumstances.

There are rigorous legislative requirements surrounding the detentain of an offender past their statutory release date. The Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA) authorizes the National Parole Board, following a referral by the Correctional Service of Canada, to detain in custody until the end of the sentence, any offender who meets the detention criteria, which is that the offender is likely to commit before the end of the sentence:

• an offence causing death or serious harm to another person;
• a sexual offence involving a child; or
• a serious drug offence.

The law further requires the Board to review detention orders annually.

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