NCJ Number
203290
Journal
Forum on Corrections Research Volume: 15 Issue: 1 Dated: May 2003 Pages: 3-5
Date Published
May 2003
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article examines the meaning of community corrections from a National Parole Board perspective.
Abstract
Although community corrections may refer to alternatives to incarceration at the front end of the criminal justice system, this article focuses on community corrections that occur after an offender is released from incarceration. From this perspective, community corrections involve programs and activities designed to assist offenders to reintegrate into society following their period of incarceration. In Canada, the conditional release system is delivered by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) and the National Parole Board (NPB), as well as other community partners. Community corrections and conditional release have become an integral part of the Canadian criminal justice system and the majority of Federal offenders will serve at least part of their sentence in the community on conditional release. The article outlines the reasons for instituting a system of conditional release that include increased public safety and community responsibility for reintegrating offenders back into society. The principles and procedures guiding the NPB in its decisions regarding the timing and conditions of release are recounted, as is the information required by the NPB for decisions concerning release. Following conditional release, the NPB requires offenders to report on their progress in the community so that recommendations regarding violations or change requests may be made. There is an emphasis on basing interventions and programs on solid research data. In the future, the NPB and CSC hope to enhance coordination and continuity between institutional and community staff.