Criminalization and Punishment in Canada

Prepared by the Criminalization and Punishment Education Project (CPEP)*

The Canadian rate of police-reported victimization has been falling since the early 1990s. In fact, statistics released in July 2013 note that this rate of victimization has reached its lowest level since 1972. Despite this, the Harper government continues to insist that now is the time to get tough on crime in Canada. In so doing, the Harper government has enacted and continues to table significant legislative and policy changes that impact criminalization and punishment in Canada. The law and order legislative and policy changes are anticipated to have a profound impact on criminalized people, as well as other consequences for victims, families and public and private sectors. The Canadian government is now choosing to lock up more people than ever before, for longer periods, even though many studies have shown that prison tends to make people more likely to reoffend. Meanwhile, the government has also slashed proven and cost-effective rehabilitation programs. Prisons and jails are also increasingly crowded, leading to dangerous conditions for all people inside the institution, and self-injurious behaviour among prisoners is rising. Even though many other government services are being cut in difficult economic times, and despite warnings from prominent U.S. Republicans about the massive social and financial costs of such initiatives in that country, we continue to spend more and more on these get tough measures. Prison population boom Between 2006 and 2011, census data indicates that the general population grew by 5.9% while the prison population grew by 17%. In 2012, it was reported that 21% of the federal prison population is Aboriginal and 9% are black Canadians. This far exceeds their representation in the community. The Office of the Correctional Investigator noted in 2012 that there has been a 40% increase in the number of federally incarcerated women. The increased federal prison population is matched with a growing population in the provincial jail system where people are held on remand or serve sentences of less than two years. People are in prison for longer periods of time In 2009, credit for time served was limited to a 1:1 ratio and 1.5:1 ratio in special circumstances. Historically, 2:1 and in some circumstances 3:1 credits were given partly to acknowledge the deplorable conditions in remand centres. In 2011, accelerated parole was abolished which permitted parole at 1/6 of a persons sentence if they were a first-time non-violent federally incarcerated person. Mandatory minimum sentences remove judicial discretion at sentencing which rigidly forces judges to impose legislated terms of imprisonment. There is currently a mandatory minimum sentence for producing 6 or more marijuana plants (Safe Streets and Communities Act, 2012). The financial cost In 2011-2012, $20.3 billion was spent on criminal justice by federal, provincial and territorial governments. In 2010/2011, the federal prison system alone cost $4.1 billion in salaries and operating cost. It costs, on average, $113, 000 in 2009/2010 to keep a person federally incarcerated. It is approximately $578 per day to incarcerate a women and $300 per day to incarcerate a male at the federal level. Between 2006 and 2011, spending on federal corrections has increased approximately 44 per cent. Nationally, between 2002 and 2012, there has been an increase in provincial security expenditures, provincial court expenditures, federal corrections expenditures and federal security expenditures.

There are proven and efficient alternatives that can be funded Social scientific evidence supports prevention programs as more cost-effective measures to criminalization and punishment. It has consistently been shown that for every $1 invested in prevention programming, $7 are saved in criminal justice costs of police, courts and corrections. This could be matched with decriminalization and legalization of some prohibited activities where social-scientific evidence supports such efforts. Cuts to programming for prisoners The federal government cut the much-praised Prison Farm program, which involved about 300 people performing agricultural tasks, interacting with the community and producing food for local food banks. While this cut was justified based on the lack of relevant employment skills in the contemporary work force, CORCAN programming at Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) facilities has been criticized for failing to provide adequate job skills for future employment. In April 2012, the federal government also terminated its award-winning and much praised and imitated LifeLine Program, despite positive evaluations. Among other things, the program provided key rehabilitation and reintegration resources for people on parole. In October 2012, the Chaplaincy Program was also cut, removing 49 part-time chaplains mostly non-Christian working in federal prisons. The program provided spiritual guidance, crisis intervention, and workshops for incarcerated people. It has since been replaced by a private contract for similar services. In late 2012 in Ottawa, federal funding for the MAP Reintegration program was cut, just before the program won an award for community safety. The program was extremely economically efficient, as a yearly budget of only $70,000 saves almost $2 million annually in costs related to victimization. Early in 2013, CSC announced the closure of the Complex Needs Program, a specially-designed program for prisoners who regularly self-harm and require extra medical attention. This program termination follows the recommendation for permanent program funding from the Office of the Correctional Investigator. When programs do work, access to programs is an issue for incarcerated people. The Office of the Correctional Investigator reported in 2012 that in seven randomly selected institutions, only 12.5% of prisoners were enrolled in a core correctional program. In these institutions, nearly a third of the population are on a wait-list for programming. Crowding and increasing harm When people are incarcerated in Canada, they also now experience harsher conditions. According to recent government reports and statistics, these conditions include increasing crowding and double-bunking, violence among prisoners, more use of force by prison staff, and more incidents of self-harm. There was a 33% increase in assaults and fights in prisons (or a total of 1248 incidents) in 2010-2011.There were 94 suicides in federal penitentiaries between 2001 and 2011, 54 attempted suicides in 2010-2011, and 912 incidents of self-injury during the same time frame. Serious self-injury has nearly tripled in the last five years in federal prisons. More barriers to reintegration Once released, people now find more barriers than ever to successfully reintegrating. Recent government changes make it harder for anyone with a criminal record to get a record suspension, and to secure legitimate employment. There is currently a huge backlog for granting record suspensions, as over 20,000 await processing. A massive increase in fees for record suspensions (currently $631 but historically $50) has also put them out of reach of many poor, unemployed people fighting to get jobs. * The Criminalization and Punishment Education Project aims to bring researchers from Carleton University and the University of Ottawa together with those affected by criminalization and punishment to identify key issues to be the focus of criminological inquiry, develop collaborative research projects, as well as plan and carry-out related public education initiatives. To find out more about us visit: www.facebook.com/CPEPgroup http://www.socialsciences.uottawa.ca/crm/criminalization-punishment-education-project Please contact us if you would like more details or documentation on any of the above information.