cover image: Use of Conditional Sentence Orders in British Columbia

20.500.12592/139x3d

Use of Conditional Sentence Orders in British Columbia

29 Jan 2022

Impact in British Columbia of the Restrictions on the Use of CSOs enacted by Parliament in March 2012 The restrictions upon the use of CSOs enacted by Parliament on March 13, 2012 are associated with a significant reduction on the total number of CSOs imposed on all offenders by the courts in BC and on the percentage of cases where a CSO was ordered. [...] The average percentage of CSOs imposed was 8.4% for the four year period preceding the introduction of the restrictions, as compared to 6.5% for the six years after the restrictions came fully into effect.14 This represents a substantial reduction of 23% between the two time periods in the proportion of sentencing cases where a CSO was imposed. [...] In other words, they were interested in whether an increase in the use of CSOs had reduced the proportion of offenders who received a conditional supervision sentence such as a suspended sentence or conditional discharge.15 Given that the effect new restrictions on the use of CSOs was to proportionally reduce the use of that sentencing option, one may ask whether the opposite of a net widening eff. [...] Finally, there are many questions which the present analysis could not answer, including the differential use of CSOs for men and women, the rate of successful completion of sentence for different types of offenders serving a CSO, the recidivism rates for offenders sentenced to CSOs as compared to that rate for offenders serving a prison sentence, as well as the impact of the use of CSOs on public. [...] Better data and a more granular analysis are required to better understand the cumulative impact of various reforms over the years, from the adoption of Gladue principles, to the imposition of mandatory minimum penalties, and the restrictions on the use of CSOs.

Authors

Yvon Dandurand

Pages
19
Published in
Canada