NCJ Number
125115
Journal
Canadian Journal of Criminology Volume: 32 Issue: 3 Dated: special issue (July 1990) Pages: 487-491
Date Published
1990
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Recent legislation strongly endorsed the concept of parole yet also contemplated major reform; similarly, public opinion surveys showed strong support for parole and equally strong demand for reform.
Abstract
The National Parole Board has been the focus of intense public scrutiny in recent years, largely due to widely publicized crimes and violence committed by parolees and offenders on temporary absence or under mandatory supervision. In the past decade, two major coroner's inquests, several inquiries and studies, and the 1987 Report of the Canadian Sentencing Commission raised fundamental questions about the purpose and functions of parole. In 1982, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms was introduced in accordance with the evolving concept of the "duty to act fairly." The National Parole Board must keep up with such evolution of Canadian jurisprudence. In the face of this challenge, the Board has committed to a strategy based on three related themes of professionalism, openness, and accountability and has shifted its decisionmaking emphasis from offenders' rights to victims' rights and public safety. (Author abstract modified)