Performance Monitoring Report 2006-2007

SUMMARY

This section provides an overview of the National Parole Board's 2006-2007 Performance Monitoring Report with a focus on the program delivery context, decision trends and performance indicators for the conditional release and clemency and pardons business lines.

CONDITIONAL RELEASE

PROGRAM DELIVERY CONTEXT

Offender Population Trends:

Over the last fifteen years, the federal offender population has steadily increased, then steadily decreased and is now once again on an upward trend. The offender population increased until March 1995, then decreased until March 2004, except for a minor increase in March 1999, and has increased in each of the last three years. The offender population is at its highest level since March 2001.

While the number of warrant of committal admissions has varied since 1994/95, there was a downward trend between 1999/00 and 2003/04 with a slight increase in 2002/03. Since then, the number of warrant of committal admissions has increased and was 5,080 in 2006/07, the highest level in the last 13 years. The number of offenders who reached warrant expiry has been fairly stable since 1998/99, varying between 4,470 and 4,608. As the number of offenders who reached warrant expiry was greater that the number of warrant of committal admissions between 1995/96 and 2003/04 (except in 1998/99), the total offender population decreased. The opposite has been true since that time resulting in an increase in the offender population.

The trends in the federal offender population mirror the trends in the crime rate in Canada, with the effect being seen in the federal offender population two years later, after the offender has had his/her case heard in court. As the crime rate in Canada decreased slightly in 2004, it was expected that the federal offender population was going to either stabilize or decrease slightly in 2006/07. However, the federal offender population actually increased by 2.8% in 2006/07.

This can be explained, in part, by the overall increase in federal admissions to institutions in 2006/07 ( 3.7%) as well as the increase in the number of warrant of committal admissions ( 5.8%) during the same period. The increase in the number of warrant of committal admissions over the past three years can be attributed, in part, to changes in police enforcement practices. For example, police focused efforts on those involved in the drug trade and the establishment of police units which specifically target drug, gun and gang related crimes resulted in an increase in the number of charges being laid in the past few years.

Aboriginal over-representation in the federal offender population has steadily increased since 1998/99. In 2006/07, the number of Aboriginal offenders in the federal offender population increased 4.6%. Aboriginal offenders represented 17.0% of the total federal offender population in 2006/07 compared to the 3.3% of the Canadian population who identified themselves as Aboriginal in the 2001 census.

Black offenders represented 6.5% of the total federal offender population in 2006/07 compared to their 2.2% proportion of the Canadian population in 2001, while Asian offenders represented 3.4% of the federal offender population compared to 7.8% of the Canadian population.

Female offenders remained under-represented in the federal offender population, however, their proportion of the federal offender population has increased over the last five years from 3.9% to 4.6%.

Federal Admissions:

*Total admissions includes the category "Other". This includes transfers from foreign countries, supervision terminated, exchange of services, etc.

Federal admissions to institutions increased 3.7% in 2006/07. During the same period, warrant of committal admissions increased 5.8%, as did the number of revocation admissions which increased 1.7%.

Federal Releases:

Federal releases from institutions decreased 1.5% in 2006/07 to 8,027. The number of offenders released on day and full parole decreased, while the number released on statutory release remained relatively stable and the number released at warrant expiry increased.

While only 168 offenders were released on full parole directly from institutions during 2006/07, a total of 1,407 full parole supervision periods actually started during the year because 1,239 full parole supervision periods started after the offender had completed day parole. This is an example of how the Board uses gradual release to reintegrate offenders back into the community slowly and safely.

Reviews for Workload Purposes:

In 2006/07, the number of reviews for workload purposes (both pre and post-release) conducted by the Board decreased 9.4% to 35,642. The Board's workload decreased both at the federal level ( 9.0%) and at the provincial level ( 24.9%), to their lowest level in at least five years.

The decrease in the workload, in 2006/07, was due, in part, to a policy amendment, effective April 1, 2006 , which saw the elimination of the release maintained process. A comparison of the reviews for workload, excluding release maintained, revealed that, between 2005/06 and 2006/07, the Board's workload was relatively stable at the federal level ( 0.6%) while it decreased 11.8% at the provincial level.

DECISION TRENDS

Release Decisions:

In 2006/07, the number of temporary absence decisions made by the Board remained stable compared to last year (760 compared to 764).

Federal day parole release decisions increased 4.4% in 2006/07 ( 192), while the number of full parole release decisions increased 2.1% ( 76).

The increases are due, in part, to the 5.1% increase in the number of warrant of committal admissions between 2004/05 and 2005/06.

Timing of First Parole Release in Sentence:

The average proportion of sentence served before first federal day parole release remained unchanged at 33% in 2006/07, while the average proportion of sentence served prior to first federal full parole release, for those serving determinate sentences, increased 1% to 40%.

Over the last five years, Aboriginal offenders served more of their sentences prior to first federal day and full parole release than either Asian, Black or White offenders. This is probably, at least partially, due to the fact that Aboriginal offenders tend to have more violent offence histories.

Over the last five years, female offenders served an average of 6% less of their sentences before first federal day parole release than male offenders (28% to 34%) and 3% less of their sentences prior to first federal full parole release (37% compared to 40%).

Grant Rates:

The approval rate for escorted temporary absences remained unchanged in 2006/07 at 91%, while the authorization rate for unescorted temporary absences decreased 1% to 80%.

The federal day parole grant rate decreased 4% in 2006/07 (to 70%). The federal grant rate decreased by 3% for accelerated day parole review cases (to 69%) and decreased by 4% for regular day parole cases (to 71%).

The federal full parole grant rate decreased 2% in 2006/07 (to 43%). The federal grant rate for accelerated full parole review increased 1% to 100% in 2006/07. This high grant rate is because offenders who are directed to day parole are almost always automatically directed to full parole. The grant rate for regular full parole decreased 1% in 2006/07 (to 21%).

The provincial day parole grant rate decreased 1% in 2006/07 (to 66%), while the provincial full parole grant rate increased 6% (to 71%). If the provincial initiated reviews in the Pacific region are excluded from the total, the adjusted national provincial full parole grant rate would be 63% instead of 71%, a decrease of 2% from the previous year.

Comparison between Aboriginal, Asian, Black and White offenders over the last five years shows that:

• Black offenders were the most likely to be approved for an escorted temporary absence and Asian offenders were the least likely;



• White offenders were the most likely to be authorized for an unescorted temporary absence and Black offenders were the least likely;



• Asian offenders were the most likely to be granted federal day parole while Aboriginal and White offenders were the most likely to be granted provincial day parole and Black offenders were the least likely to be granted both federal and provincial day parole, and



• Asian offenders were the most likely to be granted both federal and provincial full parole and Aboriginal offenders were the least likely to be granted either federal or provincial full parole.

Comparison between male and female offenders over the last five years shows that female offenders were:

• more likely to be approved for escorted temporary absences and a little less likely to be authorized for unescorted temporary absences, and



• more likely to be granted any kind of parole.

Residency Conditions:

The number of pre-release residency conditions imposed on full parole cases decreased by 10.6% in 2006/07 to 277.

Ninety-one percent (91%) of all residency conditions imposed on full parole pre-release decisions during the last five years were on accelerated parole review cases, while APR cases accounted for just 62% of all federal full parole grant decisions. This would seem to indicate that Board members often feel that offenders released on full parole based on the APR criteria are not ready for a full return to the community.

The number of residency conditions imposed on statutory release at the pre-release level increased by 3.5% in 2006/07 to 1,435. Of the 5,720 releases and graduations to statutory release in 2006/07, 25% had a residency condition imposed, which is an increase of 1% from the previous year.

Aboriginal offenders accounted for 24.5% of all pre-release decisions to impose residency conditions on statutory release in 2006/07 (352 of 1,435) compared to their 19.0% proportion of the total incarcerated population serving determinate sentences. No other offender groups (Asian, Black or White) had larger proportions of pre-release residency conditions imposed on statutory release than their proportions of the incarcerated population serving determinate sentences.

Detention:

In 2006/07, the number of referrals for detention decreased 4.2% to 250, as did the detention referral rate which decreased slightly to 4.4%. The detention rate decreased slightly (to 88.8%) while the number of offenders detained decreased (  4.7% to 222).

Aboriginal offenders continue to be over-represented as a proportion of offenders referred for detention and detained. Aboriginal offenders accounted for 28.0% of all offenders referred for detention and 29.7% of offenders detained in 2006/07, compared to their 19.0% proportion of the federal incarcerated population serving determinate sentences.

Black offenders were also over-represented but not to the same extent. Black offenders accounted for 12.0% of offenders referred for detention and 12.6% of offenders detained, while they represented 7.0% of the federal incarcerated population serving determinate sentences.

Appeal Decisions:

The Board received 440 federal applications for appeal and 9 provincial applications in 2006/07 and the Appeal Division rendered 414 decisions (397 federal and 17 provincial). The initial decision was affirmed in 95% of federal appeal cases processed in 2006/07 (the same rate as in the previous year), while a new review was ordered in 4% of the federal cases processed (15) and the special conditions were changed in 1% (3) of the federal cases processed. The decision was affirmed in all 17 of the provincial cases processed in 2006/07.

PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

TIME UNDER SUPERVISION

The average supervision period for all federal full parole completions over the last five years was almost 4 times longer than the average for offenders on statutory release and over 5½  times longer than the average for offenders on day parole.

Compared to the average supervision period length over the last five years, the full parole average was 24.4 months in 2006/07, while statutory release averaged 6.5 months and day parole averaged 4.5 months.

CONVICTIONS FOR VIOLENT OFFENCES WHILE ON CONDITIONAL RELEASE

Note: The year 2006/07 is shown but not used in calculations or the text because the number of convictions for violent offences will often fluctuate higher during the 12 to 18 months after a fiscal year ends because charges for violent offences often take that long to proceed through the courts.

The chart above demonstrates that between 1996/97 and 2005/06:

• Violent offences by offenders on conditional release dropped 33%; and,



• Offenders were far more likely to be convicted of violent offences while on statutory release than on day or full parole.

However, looking at the number of violent offences alone does not provide a full appreciation of how offenders are doing on conditional release and how often they are convicted of violent offences. To provide a relevant comparison across supervision types the Board calculates a rate per 1000 offenders on day parole, full parole and statutory release. The chart below shows that on average, in the period between 1996/97 and 2005/06, offenders on statutory release were:

• 6.8 times more likely to be convicted of a violent offence than offenders on full parole; and



• 2.3 times more likely to be convicted of a violent offence as offenders on day parole.

*Note: Supervised offenders include those offenders on parole or statutory release, temporarily detained in a federal penitentiary and unlawfully at large.

Note: The year 2006/07 is shown but not used in calculations or text because the number of convictions for violent offences will often fluctuate higher during the 12 to 18 months after a fiscal year ends because charges for violent offences often take that long to proceed through the courts.

OUTCOME RATES FOR CONDITIONAL RELEASE

Outcome Rates for Federal Conditional Release:

Federal offenders released on day parole had significantly higher successful completion rates than offenders released on full parole or statutory release during each of the last five years.

Offenders serving sentences for non-scheduled offences continue to be far less likely to successfully complete their day and full parole supervision periods than any other offence type in 2006/07. Moreover, offenders serving sentences for non-scheduled offences and for schedule I-non sex offences are equally less likely to successfully complete their statutory release than any other offence type in 2006/07. The successful completion rate for non-scheduled offenders on day parole was 73.9%, compared to the 86.0% average for all the other offence types, while their rate on full parole was 50.3%, compared to the 78.2% average for all the other offence types and the rate on statutory release was 55.8% compared to 59.0% for all other offence types.

Comparison between the outcome rates for Aboriginal, Asian, Black and White offenders on federal conditional release in 2006/07 shows that Asian offenders were most likely to successfully complete day and full parole as well as statutory release while Aboriginal offenders were the least likely to successfully complete day parole, full parole and statutory release.

Comparison between the outcome rates for female and male offenders on conditional release in 2006/07 shows that female offenders were less likely to successfully complete federal day parole but more likely to successfully complete statutory release. Male and female offenders were equally likely to successfully complete full parole.

Offenders released on statutory release were far more likely to have had their releases revoked because of a breach of condition than federal offenders on day parole or full parole during each of the last five years.

The total revocation with offence rate (revocation with violent and non-violent offences) for full parole and statutory release has been two to three times the revocation with offence rate for day parolees during each of the last five years.

The revocation with violent offence rate was significantly higher for offenders on statutory release than for offenders on day or full parole during each of the last five years.

Outcome Rates for Provincial Parole:

The successful completion rate was essentially the same for provincial offenders on day and full parole in 2002/03. However, from 2003/04 until 2006/07, the rate was higher for offenders on day parole. In 2006/07, the opposite was true as the successful completion rate was higher for provincial offenders on full parole.

Provincial offenders on day and full parole were equally likely to have had their paroles revoked because of a breach of condition in 2002/03. The rates were higher for provincial offenders on full parole between 2003/04 and 2005/06; however in 2006/07 the opposite was true.

The total revocation with offence rate (revocation with violent and non-violent offences) for provincial offenders on day parole ranged from 1.4% to 4.7% over the last five years, while the full parole rate ranged from 1.3% to 3.1%.

This chart demonstrates that very few provincial offenders have had their paroles revoked because of violent offences. The revocation with violent offence rate for provincial day and full parole was at or below 0.5% during each of the last five years. Only 1 provincial day parolee and 2 provincial full parolees were convicted of violent offences during the last five years.

Outcomes of Full Parole for Offenders Serving Indeterminate Sentences:

The chart above shows that over the last thirteen years offenders serving indeterminate sentences on full parole were:

• 29% less likely to have had their supervision periods revoked for breach of condition than federal full parolees with determinate sentences;



• 32% less likely to have had their supervision periods revoked because of an offence; and,



• 60% more likely to have had their supervision periods revoked because of a violent offence than federal full parolees with determinate sentences.

In making these comparisons it is important to remember that offenders serving indeterminate sentences have been on full parole for an average of 10.9 years compared to the average supervision period length of 24.9 months for federal offenders serving determinate sentences on full parole.

POST-WARRANT EXPIRY READMISSION ON A FEDERAL SENTENCE

The chart above shows that over the long-term (10 to 15 years after sentence completion):

• Offenders released at warrant expiry are between 3 and 4 times more likely to be re-admitted on a federal sentence than offenders that completed their sentences on full parole; and,



• Offenders that completed their sentences on statutory release are between 2½ and 3 times more likely to be re-admitted on a federal sentence than offenders that completed their sentences on full parole.



• Schedule I-sex offenders who completed their sentences on full parole or statutory release or were released at WED were the least likely to be re-admitted on a federal sentence, followed by schedule II offenders.



• Offenders in the Pacific region, who completed their sentences on full parole or were released at WED were the least likely to be re-admitted on a federal sentence. Offenders in the Ontario region, who completed their sentences on statutory release, were the least likely to be readmitted on a federal sentence.

As of March 31, 2007, 10% to 14% of federal offenders who completed their sentences on full parole between 1991/92 and 1996/97 have been re-admitted on a federal sentence. In comparison, between 31% and 34% of offenders who completed their sentences on statutory release during the same period have been re-admitted and 25% to 48% of offenders who were released at warrant expiry have returned.

INFORMATION AND SERVICE TO VICTIMS AND THE PUBLIC

The National Parole Board recorded 21,434 contacts with victims in 2006/07
( 28%). The number of observers at hearings increased 27% (to 2,055) and the number of hearings with observers increased 25% (to 865).

In 2006/07, victims made 252 presentations at 152 hearings. Of these presentations, 85% were in person, 12% were on audiotape and 2% were on videotape.

The number of decisions sent from the decision registry increased 15% in 2006/07 (to 5,871).

CLEMENCY AND PARDONS

PARDON PROGRAM

While the number of pardon applications received decreased by 5.1% in 2006/07, it remained the second highest number since 2000/01 (26,519). In 2006/07, the number of applications accepted increased substantially
( 114%) and reached a total of 27,203. The proportion of applications accepted to applications received was 103%. The increase in applications accepted as a proportion of applications received was due, in part, to the Division being fully operational with the Renewed Pardon Application Decision System (PADS-R) as well as further refinement and streamlining of pardon application processes.  

There was an increase of 73.7% in the number of pardon decisions recorded in 2006/07 (to 14,851). The grant/issue rate for pardons was 99% in 2006/07.

The Board revoked 133 pardons in 2006/ 07, an increase of 68.4% from 2005/06, while the number that ceased to exist increased significantly
( 500% to 2,264). The latter increase is due, in part, to the elimination of a backlog of notifications of cessations which had accumulated at the NPB as a result of workload pressures in previous years. While the pardons had ceased to exist and the files had been reopened by the RCMP, the NPB experienced a delay in notifying the agencies it contacted at the time of the grant of the pardon. The backlog was eliminated in 2006/07 and notifications of cessations are now being processed as soon as notification is received from the RCMP. The cumulative pardon revocation/cessation rate slightly increased in 2006/07 to 3.97%.

The average processing time for pardon applications increased to 13 months in 2006/07 from 11 months in 2005/06.Although the sustained efforts of the Division as well as the implementation of the PADS-R system provided net improvement in the processing time for pardon applications, the high number of applications received in 2006/07, which is out of the control of the NPB, did not allow the Division and NPB to reduce processing times.

CLEMENCY PROGRAM

The clemency program received 18 requests in 2006 and clemency was granted in one case.