NCJ Number
176670
Date Published
1998
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This paper identifies some of the factors that contribute to Canadian prison overcrowding and some of the avenues for solving the problem.
Abstract
Reasons why Canadian prisons are overcrowded include: (1) the country's excessive reliance on incarceration, which is regarded as the best means of ensuring public protection; (2) dramatic increases in the number of inmates, in the numbers designated as dangerous, and numbers serving long and life sentences; (3) increasing public intolerance and punitiveness; (4) lack of public support for measures other than incarceration; (5) lack of effective community-based programs; and (6) releasing authorities have become overly cautious. The paper calls for political commitment and correctional leadership to redirect institutional resources toward the community; new and effective sentencing alternatives, programs and infrastructures; more support for professionals in the exercise of their professional judgment; and fewer reincarcerations for the violation of technical conditions of release where there is not increased risk to the public. The report contains a discussion guide.