NCJ Number
117961
Date Published
1988
Length
136 pages
Annotation
Through interviews with appropriate criminal justice personnel throughout Canada, this study examines the nature of sentencing alternatives to institutionalization.
Abstract
Those interviewed included judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, police, and program administrators. A section of the report covers issues and attitudes regarding the community service program and restitution in Prince Edward Island. Respondents differed over whether the community service order, as it now operates, is a true alternative to incarceration. The public defender, prosecutor, and judge viewed it as a sentencing option rather than an alternative to jail; private defense counsel, corrections, and the police regarded it as an alternative to incarceration. The overall assessment of the program was favorable, although some suggested more could be done to meet victim needs. In British Columbia, intermittent sentences, attendance programs, temporary absence programs, and community service orders were examined. The Victim/Offender Reconciliation Program and community service orders were investigated in Ontario, and the fine option program in Saskatchewan was considered. Recommendations pertain to sentencing objectives and programs, the balance of authority between courts and sentence administrators, equivalences and equity, perceptions and attitudes, and directions for alternatives. 3 tables, appended supplementary information, 34-item bibliography.