Transaction Search Form: please type in any of the fields below.
Date: April 29, 2024 Mon
Time: 11:52 pm
Time: 11:52 pm
Results for violent offenders (canada)
2 results foundAuthor: Bonta, James Title: The National Flagging System: Identifying and Responding to High-Risk, Violence Offenders Summary: The National Flagging System (NFS) was established to track high-risk, violent offenders. In general, offenders who are judged to be suitable candidates for a Dangerous Offender (DO) and/or Long Term Offender (LTO) application should they reoffend are placed on the national CPIC system. Thus, if they do reoffend, authorities are quickly alerted to their status and steps taken to consider a DO/LTO application. The present research was aimed at empirically investigating the effectiveness of this policy initiative in identifying and responding to potentially dangerous offenders. Specifically, the profile of 256 flagged male offenders was compared with the profile of 97 known high-risk, violent offenders (i.e., Dangerous Offenders and Detention Failures). In addition, the reconviction rates of the flagged offenders were examined with an emphasis on the effect of the NFS in prompting DO and LTO applications. Results demonstrated that, with a few exceptions, although the flagged offenders showed less serious and persistent criminality characteristics than the known high-risk offenders, both groups were comprised of relatively high-risk cases, compared to general offender populations. Furthermore, the violent/sexual recidivism rates of the flagged offenders were much higher than those reported among typical Canadian male federal offender populations. Even among the violent (including sexual) recidivist offenders, however, the rates of DO and/or LTO applications and successful designations were low. Taken as a whole, despite the fact that the NFS appeared successful in appropriately identifying offenders who pose a risk to the community, this policy initiative's role in facilitating the use of DO and/or LTO provisions was less than expected. Recommendations for the development of guidelines to assist criminal justice professionals in screening, monitoring and processing dangerous offenders are made. Details: Ottawa: Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada, 2005. 24p. Source: Internet Resource: Report No. 205-04: Accessed February 7, 2011 at: http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/res/cor/rep/_fl/2005-04-flg-sysm-eng.pdf Year: 2005 Country: Canada URL: http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/res/cor/rep/_fl/2005-04-flg-sysm-eng.pdf Shelf Number: 120704 Keywords: Offender MonitoringRecidivismRisk AssessmentSex OffendersViolent Offenders (Canada) |
Author: Canada. Public Safety Canada Title: 2016-2017 Evaluation of the National Flagging System Program: Final Report Summary: The Program The National Flagging System was established in 1995 to ensure that provincial/territorial Crown prosecutors were aware of the potential information held in other provinces/territories regarding an offender's high and continuing risk of future violent conduct. The National Flagging System is both a database and a network of provincial/territorial officials, referred to as National Flagging System Coordinators, who are responsible for identifying high-risk offenders for flagging purposes. The National Flagging System operates through the Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC), which is housed within the RCMP. CPIC facilitates the sharing of person records to support this Program. When a flagged offender re-offends anywhere in Canada, those NFS Coordinators that have access to CPIC messaging functionality are notified through CPIC. NFS coordinators must apply and be granted CPIC system access before sharing the aforementioned information. The NFS is a $500,000/year grant program for the provinces with base funding of $25,000 per year per province and the remainder divided among the provinces on a population basis. Funding is used for salaries, equipment for electronic storage and file distribution, communication and travel for training and conferences that enhance expertise in the area of high-risk offenders. The territories, while part of the network, are not eligible for funding because the administration of justice is the responsibility of the Public Prosecution Service, a federal body that cannot be funded under the grant program. Why it is important High-risk offenders are a mobile population. Many spend time in the federal penitentiary system and may be moved around the country. After their incarceration, there is high incentive for them to relocate as they are often known in their community. There is a need for coordination among provinces and territories in the management of high-risk offenders. Inter-jurisdictional cooperation is essential in order to ensure that prosecutors have the information necessary to treat them appropriately if they re-offend anywhere in Canada. What we examined The evaluation assessed the relevance and performance of the NFS Program over the period 2012-13 to 2016-17. It examined: 1) continued need, 2) alignment with federal government priorities, 3) alignment with federal roles and responsibilities, 4) progress towards achievement of intended outcomes, and 5) efficiency and economy. What we found Relevance There is a continued need for the NFS and inter-jurisdictional cooperation so that prosecutors have information to ensure flagged offenders are treated appropriately if they re-offend anywhere in Canada. Workload is increasing because of the requirement to maintain files on high-risk offenders who tend to have long criminal careers. Given the mobility of long-term offenders, inter-provincial co-operation and sharing of information are crucial. Without federal funding some provinces are likely to become inactive leading to less communication, information sharing and cooperation among provinces. By identifying and tracking high-risk offenders and providing information on flagged offenders should they reoffend anywhere in Canada, the Program is aligned with the Government of Canada's and Public Safety's objective of a Safe and Secure Canada. The administration of justice is an area of shared responsibility between the federal government and the provinces/territories. The Program is consistent with federal roles and responsibilities to provide national leadership to foster cooperation and coordination among the provinces/ territories in the management of high risk offenders. Cost sharing reflects the need for information sharing with respect to this population as their mobility is increased when transferred within the federal penitentiary system. The NFS is a unique network with no equivalent counterparts. It has synergies with provincial flagging systems and with the new High Risk Child Sex Offender database for which NFS Coordinators have recently agreed to act as a conduit between the RCMP and organizations in the provinces/territories conducting public notifications. Performance - Effectiveness The evidence from interviews as well as document and literature reviews suggests that the Program is contributing to the outcomes identified in its logic model. The Program has helped provinces maintain or increase their capacity to identify and track high- risk offenders by providing funding for resources, training and equipment and by encouraging the development of inter-and intra-provincial/territorial networks. Although the data suggests that offenders who are higher risk than the general offender population are being identified, referred, flagged and tracked, it appears that cases may be missed and flagging criteria may be inconsistent across provinces. Work underway in certain provinces suggests that twice as many offenders should be flagged. A 2015 research study conducted in collaboration with PS points to inconsistency in flagging noting that some provinces are flagging disproportionally more offenders even though there were no differences in risk scores or recidivism rates between provinces.Footnote 1 The study also concluded that "the NFS appeared to function as an appropriate mechanism for tracking offenders at increased risk for violent or sexual recidivism" and identifies the right risk offenders.Footnote 2 Interviewees suggested that the program could be improved by reviewing flagging guidelines and practices. There are no standards for the timeliness of the transfer of information between provinces/territories; however, most interviewees felt it had improved and that files were transferred to meet court deadlines. Increased knowledge about the NFS and flagged offenders among Crown prosecutors and other justice partners is attributed to education and training, good communications between Coordinators and prosecutors and the knowledge and accessibility of Coordinators and staff to those with questions or seeking information. NFS information is seen to affect outcomes because it is readily and nationally available, extensive, complete and of high quality. It would be difficult for a Crown prosecutor to identify and obtain information of this caliber in a timely manner through his/her own efforts. NFS information is used to make decisions on charges, prosecution strategy, bail submissions, plea negotiations and sentencing recommendations as well as to alert prosecutors to the need to consider making an application for Dangerous Offender or Long Term Offender designations and as input into the programming an inmate receives from the Correctional Service of Canada. The NFS facilitates Dangerous Offender and Long Term Offender applications by providing complete criminal histories to support these applications, documenting intensive court processes and significantly reducing resource demands on Crown prosecutors that may in the past have limited the number of applications. A 2015 PS research study found that 14% of flagged offenders included in the study were subsequently designated compared to 1% of Canadian violent recidivists.Footnote 3 Having dedicated NFS staff, partly funded by federal grants, has facilitated the achievement of outcomes and the development of a network and strong relationships that are fostered through Coordinators' meetings. Two factors have been identified by some of the interviewees to have hindered the achievement of the Program's outcomes: information sharing challenges with the Correctional Service of Canada and the backlog faced by the RCMP in entering the criminal records of offenders in the CPIC. However, the RCMP indicated that CPIC does not have a backlog of any information. PS research studies published in 2005 and 2015 have provided confidence that the right people are being flagged and have helped Coordinators understand the impact of the Program. However, no additional research is currently planned. A number of potential improvements related to the Program have been suggested including reviewing flagging guidelines and criteria to improve inter-provincial consistency, implementing automatic notification of flagging candidates from provincial databases to minimize missed cases, preparing case summaries to improve the usefulness of flagging files to Crown prosecutors, increasing the use of electronic files, developing a web-based national database to store flagged offender files, more timely and consistent access to the Correctional Service of Canada data, more training for prosecutors on the Dangerous Offender and Long Term Offender application process and more systematic communication within the network to share information on issues and challenges related to high-risk offenders. Performance - Efficiency and Economy As recommended by the previous evaluation, a Performance Measurement Strategy was completed in 2014 and implemented in 2015. At 8%, the administration ratio for the program is in line with that of other grant programs and is indicative of an efficient administrative process. It is noted that the ratio has increased from 4.5% at the time of the last evaluation. The evaluation has identified a number of opportunities for improvement. To that end, the following recommendations are being made for consideration. Recommendations Internal Audit and Evaluation Directorate recommends that the ADM of CSCCB: In collaboration with the provinces, to develop more structured flagging criteria and guidelines to improve consistency in the application of these criteria by NFS coordinators and across jurisdictions; To work with NFS coordinators and Correctional Service Canada (CSC) to improve consistency, timeliness and ease of access to CSC information by NFS coordinators and across jurisdictions. Management Response and Action Plan Management accepts all recommendations and will implement an action plan Details: Ottawa: Public Safety Canada, 2017. 29p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 28, 2018 at: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/vltn-ntnl-flggng/vltn-ntnl-flggng-en.pdf Year: 2017 Country: Canada URL: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/vltn-ntnl-flggng/vltn-ntnl-flggng-en.pdf Shelf Number: 149949 Keywords: Offender MonitoringRecidivismRisk AssessmentSex OffendersViolent Offenders (Canada) |