NCJ Number
185850
Journal
Forum on Corrections Research Volume: 12 Issue: 3 Dated: September 2000 Pages: 21-24
Editor(s)
Larry Motiuk
Date Published
September 2000
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Initial security and reclassification of offenders serving life sentences present several unique challenges for correctional staff in Canada; while the gravity of the offense is common to all offenders serving life sentences, the security risk profile of these offenders is different in several important ways.
Abstract
For Federal corrections in Canada, initial penitentiary placement of offenders begins with the Custody Rating Scale (CRS), a 12-item scale based on static, historical indexes of institutional adjustment and public safety risk. The CRS assigns a security level rating and is applied at admission to all new offenders and to those readmitted by way of conditional release revocation. The Security Reclassification Scale (SRS) is a 13-item scale that assesses recent in-custody behavior or progress. In fiscal year 1999-2000, 3,985 offenders were admitted to Federal custody in Canada for which both a CRS rating and a final Offender Security Level (OSL) decision were available. At admission, the CRS assigned more lifers maximum security ratings (38 percent) than OSL decisions (20 percent), while there were no real differences in the distribution by CRS ratings or OSL decisions to minimum security. The CRS/OSL concordance rate for lifers at admission was lower than the rate for non-lifers, 74 percent versus 80 percent. The SRS rated fewer lifers maximum security (5 percent) and more minimum security (29 percent) than OSL decisions. The SRS/OSL concordance rate for lifers at reclassification was lower than the rate for non-lifers, 80 percent versus 86 percent. The author concludes that, while objective security classification measures offer many benefits, they are not intended to simply replace but rather to inform professional judgment. 8 footnotes and 2 tables