The document provides an overview of the Canadian criminal justice system (CJS) in three parts. It begins with the tenets and principles of the CJS, including justice, deterrence, punishment, protection, rehabilitation and reintegration. It then describes the five main branches of the CJS: legislative, police, criminal courts, corrections, and parole. Finally, it outlines the process an individual goes through within the CJS from arrest to sentencing and sanctions, and discusses some challenges and limitations of the system.
CRIM 2304 Canadian Criminal Justice System Overview
1. CRIM 2304: Canadian
Criminal Justice
Module One:
Overview of the Canadian CJS
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2. Contents
1. Tenets & principles of the Canadian CJS
2. Division of government powers vis a vis the CJS
3. Five main CJ “institutions”
4. Process within the Canadian CJS
5. Weaknesses & limitations of the CJS
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3. The CJS: An Overview
A state-run system of formal social
control/order maintenance
Six Tenets:
• Justice*
• Deterrence
• Punishment
• Protection
• Rehabilitation
• Reintegration*
* Main principles of Canadian CJS
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5. Five main CJ Branches
1. Legislative: Criminal law /
Criminal Justice Policy
Making
2. Police
3. The Criminal Courts
4. Corrections
5. Parole
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6. Criminal Law & Criminal
Justice Policy Making
Federal Government (parliament) is
responsible for writing & enacting
criminal laws in Canada
Summary vs. indictable offences
Criminal statutes:
– Criminal Code of Canada
– Controlled Drugs & Substances Act
– Youth Criminal Justice Act
– Anti-Terrorism Act
Other criminal justice policies enacted by federal &
provincial governments, as well as criminal justice agencies
Canadian criminal laws & legal system is common law
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7. Police
Municipal Police
– 67% of all police
Provincial Police
– Ontario, Quebec,
Newfoundland
RCMP
– Federal statutes
– “Contract Policing”
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8. Criminal Courts
Lower Courts
– A.k.a. provincial courts
– Deal with most cases
Superior Courts
– Trial Division: serious cases
– Appeals Division (appeals from lower courts)
Appeal Courts
– Hears appeals from superior court
Supreme Court of Canada
– Final appellate court
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9. Corrections
Federal: Correctional
Services Canada
– 2 years or more
Provincial corrections
– Less than 2 years
Community supervision
– Parole, probation,
statutory release,
temporary absences
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10. Parole
Reintegration into society
National Parole Board
– Makes parole decisions for federal offences
and all parole decisions in provinces other
than Ontario, Quebec, B.C.
Provincial Parole Boards
– B.C., Ontario, Quebec
– Makes parole decisions for provincial inmates
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11. Process within the
Canadian CJS
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Source: Public Safety Canada, http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/csc-scc/report-rapport/bckgrnd-eng.aspx
12. Law Enforcement
Arrest
– With or without a warrant
– Probable cause
Appearance notice
– Issued by police on the spot
Summons
– By justice of the peace
Detention prior to trial
– Discretion (of police and later judge)
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13. Criminal Trial
Arraignment (charges read)
Preliminary inquiry
Optional for indictable offenses to determine if there is
enough evidence to proceed
Followed by indictment
Bail hearing
Trial
Mostly by judge only
May elect jury trial in serious cases
Proof: guilt beyond a reasonable doubt
Sentencing trial
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14. Sentencing
Sentencing trial
Judge has many choices:
– Probation, incarceration, suspended sentence, fine, house
arrest
Sentencing judge has discretion: takes into
consideration pre-sentence reports, victim impact
statements, mitigating/aggravating factors
However, some crimes have mandatory minimum
sentences (e.g., first degree murder)
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15. Sanctions/Corrections
Incarceration: Provincial or federal
correctional institution
Alternatives:
– Probation
– Community supervision
– Treatment programs
– Restitution
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16. Parole
Temporary absence
– Medical treatment, compassionate (death, birth)
counseling, decision made by prison official
Day parole
– Short periods, prepare for full parole, school, work, etc.
– Eligibility starts 6 months before full parole
Full parole
– Apply after 1/3 of sentence is completed
Statutory release
– 2/3 of sentence expired, may be denied by parole board
Lifers
– No chance of parole for 25 years
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18. Challenges facing the
Canadian CJS
Balancing the due process rights of the accused with the
collective security of society as a whole
Crime becoming increasingly complex and multi-jurisdictional;
some investigations and trials are very expensive
Increasingly multi-cultural society
CJS is vulnerable to budget cuts
CJS must battle against the sensationalized and “if-it-bleeds-it-
leads” emphasis of the media
Police need to involve & inform the public, but at what costs in
terms of their safety and privacy of offenders (& victims)
Victims traditionally left out of the process
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19. Critiques of the CJS
The Criminal Justice System:
is unable to cope with the actual quantity of crime
fails to identify many criminal offenders and bring them to
justice
fails to rehabilitate those offenders who are identified by the
criminal justice system
fails to address the underlying factors associated with crime
and criminality
may in fact promote crime through corrections system
discriminates against (visible) minorities
is insufficiently resourced, contributing to “lack of justice”
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20. The Crime Funnel
Reported 200
Actual 100
Cleared 34
Criminal cases
Charged 22
Convicted 15
Custody 4
% of total offenses
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21. Attrition of Cases
Many offences are not detected
Victims may not report offences to the police
Some cases are not recorded as crimes by police
No suspect is identified
Suspect may not be charged
Charges may be withdrawn by victim or
prosecution
Suspect may plead guilty following plea
bargaining
Judge may dismiss case at preliminary hearing
due to lack of evidence
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Editor's Notes
Textbook:“The criminal justice system is generally considered to contain all of the agen-cies, organizations, and personnel involved in the prevention of andresponse to crime and dealing with persons charged with criminal offences,and persons convicted of crimes. It includes crime prevention and crimereduction; the arrest and prosecution of suspects; the hearing of criminalcases by the courts; sentencing and the administration and enforcement ofcourt orders; parole and other forms of conditional release; and supervisionand assistance for ex-offenders released into the community. In recent years,“restorative justice” approaches have become part of the criminal justiceprocess as well.” (4)
Textbook:CJS powers are concentrated in the state; indeed, one of the reasons that the state is so powerful in most societies is that it controls the levers of the CJS.Today in Canada...Each level of government—federal, provincial, and municipal— plays a role in the justice system. The division of responsibilities between the federal and provincial governments was spelled out in the Constitution Act,1867. The basic division is that the federal government is responsible for writing and enacting criminal laws – basically deciding which behaviours constitute criminal offences and how they should be punished - while the provincial/territorial governments are responsible for administering the justice system, which includes policing, law enforcement, the prosecution of most criminal cases, and operating correctional institutions.” (9)While the provincial government has been given constitutional authority to administer the criminal justice system in Canada, the federal government also operates a national police force (the RCMP); prosecutes some federal offences, including narcotics offences; appoints some judges and manages some courts; correctional institutions for those offenders who receive sentences totalling two years or more; and operates a parole board for federal inmates and for provincial/territorial inmates in jurisdictions other than Quebec and Ontario (which have their own provincial parole boards).” (6)The municipal governments of cities and towns play a lesser role, primarily related to policing and bylaw enforcement.” (5) Municipal government – mainly involved in overseeing police service and local jails...(such as setting budgets) However....municipal governments are completely answerable to the provincial govenment, thus the latter is ultimately responsibility for municipal policing.If you look at the organizational chart...The primary mandate of the Department of Justice is to assist the federal government in making and reforming the criminal law and in developing criminal justice policy. This Department is also the government’s law firm; that is, it provides legal advice to the federal government as well as legal services (for example, through the FPS, discussed earlier). (19)
Legislative bodyPoliceCriminal CourtsCorrectionsParoleTextbook:Notwithstanding these institutions “... keep in mind that the criminal justice system is first and foremost a human enterprise. The decisions of police officers, judges, probation/parole officers, and parole boards are generally based not on scientific formulas but on professional judgment, experience, and intuition ...” (3)Discretion – CJS personnel carry out their tasks within the framework of written laws and policies; but they also exercise considerable discretion when making decisions. Indeed, discretion is a key part of the CJS system and process.Conservatives: limitations on a judges discretion.
Other statutesFederal Government (parliament) is responsible for writing & enacting criminal laws in Canada Criminal statutes: Criminal Code of CanadaControlled Drugs & Substances ActYouth Criminal Justice ActAnti-Terrorism ActOther criminal justice policies enacted by federal & provincial governments, as well as criminal justice agenciesProcedural laws:the Sex Offender Information Registration Act (2004, c. 10) (http://www. canlii.org/ca/as/2004/c10) established a national sex offender database containing information on convicted sex offenders. The basis of Canadian criminal laws & its entire legal system is what is known ascommon law“The common law system originated in Europe and was imported to Canada in the 17th and 18th centuries. It emerged from decisions made by judges in the royal courts and was based on the notion of precedent: “whenever a judge makes a decision that is said to be legally enforced, this decision becomes a precedent: a rule that willguide judges in making subsequent decisions in similar cases.” A unique feature of the common law is that is exists in past decisions of judges rather than being embodied in legal codes or legislation.” (14)
Textbook:“The courts are organized in a hierarchy, with the Supreme Court of Canada at the top. Lower CourtsA.k.a. provincial courtsDeal with most casesSuperior CourtsTrial Division: serious casesAppeals Division (appeals from lower courts)Appeal CourtsHears appeals from superior courtSupreme Court of CanadaFinal appellate courtThe principle whereby higher courts set precedents that lower courts must follow. Underlying this principle is the idea that like cases should be treated alike. ... the Supreme Court of Canada rules on a thorny legal issue, all courts below it are bound to apply that ruling in subsequent cases.”
LTSO – Long Term Supervision Order
Arraignment (charges read)Preliminary inquiryOptional for indictable offenses to determine if there is enough evidence to proceed Followed by indictmentBail hearingTrialMostly by judge onlyMay elect jury trial in serious casesProof: guilt beyond a reasonable doubtSentencing trialTextbook:
Textbook:“The criminal justice system responds to lawbreaking with investigation, prosecution, and (when appropriate) punishment. It does not, however, respond to every breach of the law. Only a fraction of the criminal acts com-mitted come to the attention of the police, and only a much smaller fraction of these are heard in the courts or lead to a sentence of incarceration. So dramatic is this attrition of cases in Canadian criminal justice that it is often represented graphically by a funnel...” (3)