NCJ Number
133869
Date Published
Unknown
Length
64 pages
Annotation
The purpose of this investigation was to inquire into the complete circumstance surrounding the events preceding, during, and following the declaration that an inmate on unescorted temporary absence was unlawfully at large from Montgomery Centre in Toronto, Canada in January 1988.
Abstract
Montgomery Centre was established in 1970 by the Correctional Service of Canada as a community corrections center (CCC) for day parole releases into the community of Toronto. An investigation was initiated in February 1988 by Canada's Commissioner of Corrections, in consultation with the National Parole Board, to evaluate policies and procedures at Montgomery Centre and similar halfway houses. Findings of the inquiry board indicated that problems in the center's management were not necessarily typical of other halfway houses in other jurisdictions. The board found that the public supports the general concept of halfway houses and the gradual reintegration of nondangerous offenders, but lost confidence in the operation and security of Montgomery Centre. The public was not aware and did not support the fact that dangerous offenders and high-profile cases do not include persons with records of violent crimes such as murder, manslaughter, or sexual assault. The board also found that insufficient beds exist in CCC's to permit the appropriate matching of inmates to programming, security, and monitoring. In addition, the board determined that better security and emergency procedures are needed at halfway houses, that offender and community risk assessments need to be conducted, that information dissemination procedures must be improved, that better procedures need to be implemented to account for halfway house residents and their movements, and that staff be adequately trained to handle these offenders.