Offenders In Canada Research Articles

"Taking Down the Straw Man" or Building a House of Straw? Validity, Equity, and the Custody Rating Scale

Given the powerful impact of security level assignment on both the female and the correctional facility, as well as the serious implications of (mis)classification for broader legal, economic, and humanitarian issues, we welcomed Blanchette and Motiuk's reply to our article (Webster and Doob 2004). Indeed, we would have been pleased to be persuaded that our concerns regarding the lack of validity and equity of the Custody Rating Scale (CRS) used to assign initial security levels to federally sentenced women offenders in Canada were incorrect. Unfortunately, we were not convinced. On the contrary, this rejoinder will demonstrate that our principal concerns were either not addressed or not convincingly refuted. Reluctantly, we are forced to conclude that rather than taking down the straw man, Blanchette and Motiuk (2004) have simply reinforced the classification of their own house as fragile and unprotected. In this rejoinder, we have opted not to enter into linguistic distinctions of whether the CRS constitutes the foundation of the security classification system in Canada--as we note (2004: 396), along with others (Canadian Human Rights Commission 2003)--or represents one of the offender classification instruments [that] are critical to the effective and efficient management of women offenders while under federal sentence--as claimed by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) (Research Branch, Correctional Service of Canada 2003: 11). Similarly, we have chosen to ignore the misguided criticism levelled at us for not having provided any new data, since the entire point of our prior paper was to demonstrate that CSC's own data do not support its repeated claims of the validity and equity of the CRS. Further, while we concede - despite similar affirmation by others (Canadian Human Rights Commission 2003)--that the CRS may not originally have been designed for a homogeneous (white) male population, we simply note that the veracity of this statement is irrelevant to the persuasiveness of our critique. Rather, we prefer to focus our rejoinder exclusively on our principal conclusions. For the sake of simplicity, we have opted to summarize our key findings, followed by a discussion of Blanchette and Motiuk's response to each of them. I--Overall scale validity While a significant linear relationship exists between overall CRS security level designations and institutional incidents (CSC's outcome measure for assessing the predictive validity of its classification scale) for women as a group, we note that this relationship collapses for Aboriginal female offenders. More specifically, the institutional incident rates for Aboriginal women classified in minimum and medium security are essentially the same. Clearly, the CRS (as a whole) lacks predictive validity for this sub-sample of female offenders, as it is unable to discriminate accurately between these two security classification designations according to differing probabilities of inmate risk. Blanchette and Motiuk begin by reiterating--as we note--the existence of an overall linear relationship between CRS designations and security incident involvement over a six-month follow-up period for women offenders in general (623). However, they are unexpectedly silent on the absence of a linear relationship for Aboriginal women, leaving us to continue to assume that the CRS lacks predictive validity for this sub-population. Subsequently, they provide new data demonstrating the same general linear relationship between CRS security level designations and their newly presented measures of risk to public safety for women who have been released (625). Unfortunately, they continue to present no separate validity data for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal sub-populations. Particularly given the absence of a linear relationship between the overall scale designation and institutional incidents for Aboriginal inmates, it would seem imperative to examine this possibility for these new outcome measures. …

Classification without Validity or Equity: An Empirical Examination of the Custody Rating Scale for Federally Sentenced Women Offenders in Canada

In order to fulfil its legal mandate to assign an initial security classification of minimum, medium, or maximum to all federally sentenced women offenders, the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) has used the Custody Rating Scale (CRS) - an objective statistical tool - for more than a decade. Despite CSC's numerous claims of this tool's validity and the equity of its outcomes, it has been repeatedly suggested that the CRS misclassifies women in general, and Aboriginal women in particular. This article extends the (theoretical) debate surrounding the applicability of the CRS for these two sub-groups of the inmate population. Using actual findings published by CSC, this article empirically demonstrates that the overall scale, one of its two sub-scales, and many of the individual items making up the classification tool have weak or no predictive validity for Aboriginal and/or non-Aboriginal women. Further, it provides evidence that the CRS introduces a systematic bias against Aboriginal (relative to non-Aboriginal) offenders whereby a substantial proportion of these minority women are unjustly over-classified in higher levels of security. The article concludes with a discussion of several of the broader theoretical and policy implications of these findings.

Cross Validation of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ): A Tool for Assessing Violent and Nonviolent Recidivism in Australian Offenders

The aim of this study was to determine whether the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ; Loza, 1996), a self-report measure designed to predict recidivism, which was found to be psychometrically sound with Canadian male offenders, would also be reliable and valid for use with Australian male offenders. The SAQ consists of 72 items; with 6 subscales that measure offenders' criminogenic risk/need areas. The SAQ was administered to 116 male offenders incarcerated in rural southwestern Australia, along with the Psychopathy Checklist — Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 1991) and the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG; Harris, Rice, & Quinsey, 1993). Data related to the offenders' criminal history were collected via review of institutional files. The Cronbach alphas for the SAQ subscale scores ranged from .68 to .76. The correlations between SAQ total score and subscale scores ranged from .48 to .86. The SAQ subscales significantly correlated with other instruments assessing recidivism. Offenders with high SAQ total scores had significantly more total number of offences, higher numbers of breaches of conditional releases, and higher numbers of violent offences. Offenders who committed violent offences scored significantly higher than those who committed nonviolent offences. These results support the previous findings establishing the reliability and validity of the SAQ for use with Canadian offenders and suggest that the SAQ may have applicability for use as an instrument for predicting violent and nonviolent recidivism in Australian populations. A follow-up predictive study is needed to further validate the SAQ on Australian offenders, and other offender populations, to widen its applicability.

Concurrent cross-validation of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire: a tool for assessing violent and nonviolent recidivism and institutional adjustment on a sample of North Carolina offenders.

The aim of this study was to determine whether the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ), a tool that was found to be reliable and valid for assessing violent and nonviolent recidivism and institutional adjustment for Canadian offenders, would also be valid for the same purposes with a demographically different population of North Carolina offenders. The internal consistency alphas and SAQ total and subscale scores' correlations were high. Offenders with high SAQ total scores had significantly more violent offenses, had more total number of past offenses, had higher numbers of past arrests, and had more institutional infractions than those with low SAQ scores. There were no significant differences between the responses of the African American and Caucasian offenders on the SAQ scales. These results support previous findings regarding the reliability and validity of the SAQ for assessing recidivism and institutional adjustment and suggest that the SAQ could be used with diverse populations.

Sentencing Juvenile Offenders in Canada

Statutory reforms of the juvenile justice system came to Canada in 2003 when the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) became law. This article reviews the principal sentencing provisions and, in particular, the purposes and principles that are now codified as a result of the new legislation. The legislation attempts to reduce the number of young offenders sent to prison while facilitating the imposition of harsher sentences on a small number of juveniles convicted of the most serious offenses. The YCJA moves youth court sentencing closer to sentencing as it is conducted in adult court but also maintains some important differences between the two levels. These reforms are likely to reduce the number of young persons sent to prison in Canada and change the composition of the juvenile prison population by reducing the number of young offenders incarcerated for minor crimes or property crimes.

Characteristics of sexual homicides committed by psychopathic and nonpsychopathic offenders.

In this study, the relationship between psychopathy and the prepetration of sexual homicide was investigated. The official file descriptions of sexual homicides committed by 18 psychopathic and 20 nonpsychopathic Canadian offenders were coded (by coders unaware of Psychopathy Checklist--Revised [PCL--R] scores) for characteristics of the victim, victim/perpetrator relationship, and evidence of gratuitous and sadistic violent behavior. Results indicated that most (84.7%) of the sexual murderers scored in the moderate to high range on the PCL--R. The majority of victims (66.67%) were female strangers, with no apparent influence of psychopathy on victim choice. Homicides committed by psychopathic offenders (using a PCL--R cut-off of 30) contained a significantly higher level of both gratuitous and sadistic violence than nonpsychopathic offenders. Most (82.4%) of the psychopaths exhibited some degree of sadistic behavior in their homicides compared to 52.6% of the nonpsychopaths. Implications for homicide investigations are discussed.

Circles of Support

Abstract This paper addresses the increasing difficulties faced in community-based management of sexual offenders in Canada. Those offenders at particularly high-risk to re-offend (e.g., sadistic rapists and serial child molesters) often receive indeterminate sentences, and are rarely released to the community prior to death or incapacitating illness. However, many other high-risk offenders are released from custody at the end of a determinate sentence, often without the benefit of adequate supervision or treatment. In a restorative justice initiative managed by the Mennonite Central Committee of Ontario, 30 high-risk sexual offenders released at sentence completion were provided with community support in the form of Circles of Support and Accountability. A brief overview of the Canadian penal system and its handling of sexual offenders is given to provide the social and political framework in which many current restorative justice projects have been undertaken. It is argued that traditional punitive measures have done little to address risk to the community and that effective interventions in the community must not be limited to time under warrant. The Circles of Support initiative focuses on the need to engage the community in the offender reintegration process. Data are provided regarding recidivism rates in comparison to actuarial projections determined from STATIC-99 (Hanson & Thornton, 1999) survival curves. Recidivism across 30 high-risk offenders, with a mean follow-up time of 36 months, currently stands at less than 40% of that predicted by STATIC-99.

Landing in the Cuckoo's Nest: The Hospital Disposition of Guilty Mentally Ill Offenders - Lessons from the United Kingdom

This article explores the current schemes for sentencing guilty mentally ill offenders in Canada and the United Kingdom. The author highlights the deficiencies of the current Canadian scheme, arguing both that it is limited to the traditional sentencing smorgasbord and that principles of sentencing are difficult to balance with respect to guilty mentally ill offenders. In his analysis of the mental health sentencing dispositions available in the United Kingdom, the author assesses how such a scheme could be implemented in Canada and what modifications are necessary in order to better conform with Canadian law and policy, in particular, the areas concerning disposition thresholds, consent to treatment and discharge are examined. The author concludes that implementation of a hospital disposition in the Canadian sentencing regime is necessary to overcome conflicting sentencing principles and correctional aims, to address the lack of correctional programs and infrastructure courts encounter when sentencing guilty mentally ill offenders, and to enhance the protection of society — the primary goal in sentencing.

In cold blood: characteristics of criminal homicides as a function of psychopathy.

This study investigated the relationship between psychopathy and the characteristics of criminal homicides committed by a sample of 125 Canadian offenders. It was hypothesized that the homicides committed by psychopathic offenders would be more likely to be primarily instrumental (i.e., associated with premeditation, motivated by an external goal, and not preceded by a potent affective reaction) or "cold-blooded" in nature, whereas homicides committed by nonpsychopaths often would be "crimes of passion" associated with a high level of impulsivity/reactivity and emotionality. The results confirmed these predictions; homicides committed by psychopathic offenders were significantly more instrumental than homicides by nonpsychopaths. Nearly all (93.3%) of the homicides by psychopaths were primarily instrumental in nature compared with 48.4% of the homicides by nonpsychopaths.

Young offenders: balancing control and treatment.

Quebec’s response to the proposed changes in the legislative framework for dealing with young offenders in Canada highlights many of the questions raised in this special issue. Professionals in Quebec expressed their opposition to plans for replacing the Young Offenders Act (YOA) (Canada, 1982/1985) from the moment the proposed Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) (Canada, 2001) was first introduced by the federal minister of justice, Anne McLellan. They argued that a new law was unnecessary since any weaknesses of the YOA lay in its implementation rather than in the law it-self, as the Jasmin Report (Quebec, 1995) demonstrated. Instead of introducing a new law, governments would be better off spending money in other areas, such as public education and development of new resources at both ends of the correctional continuum.

Therapeutic Jurisprudence and the Sentencing of Sexual Offenders in Canada

The incidence of sex crimes against women and children continues to alarm the public. Frequently, the crimes receiving greater media attention involve men with past convictions for sexual offences. To address the issue of recidivism, the Canadian criminal justice system has placed more emphasis on rehabilitation. The author contends that further changes could be introduced to facilitate the treatment of these men. Typically, judicial responses have involved short-term incarceration and/or community supervision (i.e., probation). Research on treatment efficacy supports the utilisation of specific sex offender treatment, and to some extent these interventions have been employed. In this article, legal procedures for sentencing men convicted of sexual offences are examined from the perspective of therapeutic jurisprudence and recommendations are made. These include long-term community supervision following periods of incarceration and mandated treatment specifically addressing sexually abusive behaviour. The recommendations are considered in light of the legal challenges that might be raised.

What’s intermediate about ‘intermediate’ sanctions?: The case of young offender dispositions in Canada

This analysis of youth court dispositions across Canadian provinces focuses on the combinations of punishments imposed, and in particular, the use of ‘intermediate’ sanctions. The study challenges simplistic conceptualizations of punishment -that sanctions differ solely on a dimension of severity, and that sanctions are highly fluid and flexible entities which can easily be made equivalent at sentencing. Recent sentencing legislation in Canada suggests that judges should use intermediate sanctions for young offenders as much as possible. Youth court data reveal that custody for young offenders is frequently imposed, and in particular, that the use of short custodial sentences has increased since the introduction of the Young Offenders Act. The present analysis suggests that intermediate sanctions lack the denunciatory power that imprisonment possesses and that this will affect when and how they are imposed. It is argued that this purpose of punishment is seen by youth court judges as being required for violent, sexual and serious property offences. For a certain level of offending across these serious offences, denunciation is fulfilled by a short custodial term. In fulfilling the minimum denunciatory component of the sentence through short custody, judges are then able to impose intermediate sanctions. Thus there is not much that is intermediate about ‘intermediate’ sanctions on certain dimensions. The theoretical and policy implications of the findings of the use of intermediate sanctions for young offenders in Canada are explored.

Changes in police charging of young offenders in Ontario and Saskatchewan after 1984

This paper uses data for Ontario and Saskatchewan to test the hypothesis proposed by Carrington and Moyer (1994) that the reduction in police diversion of young offenders in Canada during the first 5 years of the Young Offenders Act -that is, the increase in the proportion of apprehended young offenders who were charged -was due to higher proportions charged among the 16-and 17-year-olds added to the jurisdiction of the youth justice system in the majority of provinces and territories. Analysis of age-specific data on charging of young offenders in these two provinces in 1995 suggests that the addition of 16-and 17-year-olds accounts for about half of the observed increase in police charging of young offenders after 1984, and that the other half is due to increased charging of 12-to 15-year-olds.

The Sentencing of Dangerous and Habitual Offenders in Canada

and control are based primarily on a perception of risk or fear of future crimes, rather than actual harm already caused. Preventive detention, by its very nature, raises what the late Judge David B?zelon described as profound moral and legal questions.1 The introduction of the Canadian provisions reflected experience in both the United States and Great Britain, countries which for reasons of both history and geography have had a gravitational pull on the Canadian criminal justice system. This article reviews the history and present structure of the Canadian provisions for the sentenc ing of dangerous and habitual offenders. The experience with Habitual Offender legislation in Canada shows that the offenders caught up in its net were not the most violent or serious offenders and yet served extremely lengthy sentences, totally dispro portionate to the harm they caused or the risk they posed. This experience has significance for the present American embrace of three strikes legisla tion and the issue of over-inclusiveness. The second

Group therapy of aboriginal offenders in a Canadian forensic psychiatric facility.

In recent years, the use of group therapy approaches with Aboriginal or Native Canadians/American Indians has become widely accepted. However, many advocates of this approach rarely consider the implications of group therapy for culturally heterogeneous groups, such as when non-Aboriginal peoples are involved or when there are Aboriginal peoples from different cultures and/or with different degrees of orientation to Euro-Canadian culture. This article documents the use of one form of group therapy for Aboriginal offenders in a forensic psychiatric facility, where this degree of cultural heterogeneity exists. The article concludes that, at least within a forensic psychiatric setting, group therapies that mirror the social, cultural, racial, and class structures of Euro-Canadian society are problematic in the treatment of traditional Aboriginal offenders but much less so for acculturated Aboriginal offenders.

Assessment of Criminogenic Factors, Program Assignment, and Recidivism

A sample of 107 federally incarcerated male offenders in Canada was followed to examine the outcome of a classification approach, Case Management Strategies. Cases were tracked from point of reception to 6- and 18-month postrelease to assess how criminogenic factors were matched to programs, whether and how these program recommendations were acted on, and whether completion of appropriate programming affected postrelease outcome. The results largely failed to support the efficacy of this case management and program assignment process in classifying offenders to correctional programs as part of the rehabilitation process. Only about half of the program assignments were judged appropriate in targeting criminogenic factors. Only a small proportion of the recommended programs actually were completed by the offenders. Finally, the completion of program interventions, based on appropriate targeting of criminogenic factors, was unrelated to postrelease outcome after 6- and 18-month follow-ups.

The treatment of sexual offenders in Canada: An update.

Ontario Ministry of Correctional Servicesand University of OttawaR. KARL HANSON,Ministry Secretariat, Solicitor GeneralCanadaAbstractData were collected from X2 Canadian pro-grams for sex offenders by means of site visitsand questionnaires issued lo program direc-tors. Collectively, ihcsc programs providedservices to more than l.tyxj sex offendersannually. Programs varied considerably in size(7 to 250 clients), duration (3 10 36 months),and intensity (1 to 33 hours per week). Ingeneral, assessments of clients were morelikely to be undertaken for programmaticpurposes (e.g., identifying treatment targets)than for decision making (e.g., release deci-sions). Assessments were typically mullimodcl,involving interviews, file reviews, and psycho-logical testing. Similarly, the treatment ser-vices provided by most settings included avariety of behavioural, cognitive-behavioural,and psychodynamic approaches. On average,each program targeted 17 different risk fac-tors (e.g., empathy for victims, deviant sexualpreferences).

The Sentencing of Young Offenders in Canada

The Sentencing of Young Offenders in Canada

Types of male alcohol- and drug-abusing incarcerated offenders.

SummaryTo provide a parsimonious description of prisoners with alcohol and drug use histories, a clustering algorithm was applied to a set of treatment‐relevant psychosocial variables obtained from a survey of 269 male incarcerated Canadian offenders. A stable five group solution was uncovered. The groups are differentiated mainly in terms of the seriousness of their alcohol and drug problems but each group has its own particular constellation of other features: one group was relatively problem‐free; one abused drugs other than alcohol and seemed to be leading a generally criminal lifestyle; the third group abused only alcohol and was more socially stable; and the final two groups abused both alcohol and other drugs differing in that one reported needing more emotional assistance and the other showing signs of organic deficits.

A survey of alcohol and drug problems in incarcerated offenders.

It has been well documented in American studies that the use of alcohol and drugs is highly related to crime. Similar descriptive data for Canadian offenders are lacking, hampering the systematic development of treatment programs. Two hundred and seventy-five Canadian Federal Penitentiary inmates from 9 institutions participated in a 3-hour assessment consisting of a structured interview and a batter of self-report tests to determine key social and demographic characteristics; type, frequency, and extent of substance use prior to incarceration; previous treatment for substance abuse; criminal history; and perceived relationship of criminal behavior to substance use. The results indicate high preincarceration daily intake of alcohol, moderate levels of alcohol dependence, and frequent attribution of severe psychosocial problems related to substance use combined with low frequencies of treatment involvement. Implications of this research for treatment programming are discussed.