NCJ Number
204774
Date Published
2003
Length
42 pages
Annotation
The guide presents information about the legal entitlements of crime victims in Canada and outlines an offender’s journey through the Federal correctional system.
Abstract
The guide is organized into five main sections. The first section provides the legal definition of victims of crime, which includes any person who has suffered physical or emotional harm as a result of an offense. This guide is intended to provide information to victims of crime in cases where the offender was sentenced to 2 years or more, which places the offender under the jurisdiction of the Correctional Service of Canada or the National Parole Board. The second section focuses on victims’ rights and the obligations of the Correctional Service of Canada and the National Parole Board. The required disclosure of information to victims is discussed and the way in which victims give information to, and receive information from, the Correctional Service of Canada and the National Parole Board is explicated. Discussions of victim offender mediation and victims’ right not to be contacted by inmates are included. The third section presents the journey of an offender through the Federal correctional system following sentencing. Topics of discussion include the sentence commencement date, transition from jail to penitentiary, intake assessment and planning, placement, transfers, daily prison routine, inmate programs, conditional release, parole, and special eligibility. The fourth section presents information related to community corrections, which generally has the goal of gradually releasing offenders from prison and helping them adjust to life in the community. Aspects of supervision, programming, and community involvement are explained and the key players in community corrections are introduced: parole officers, community networks, the parole office, and community-based residential facilities. The fifth section provides a listing of contacts for further information. The annex presents proposed changes that relate to victims’ rights. Annex