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I-IV

I 6049 S24 2000ar

I I

141 Correctional Service Service correctionnel Canada Canada

I I I ribe 1 Safe Return 1 of Offenders I to the Community I Statistical Overview April 2000 I 1 I I I I I I 1 Corporate Development

Research Branch

The Safe Return of Offenders to the Community

Contents

1-11J 6otiq

V-1

2000 ara

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 1 1 1 1

A. Introduction 3

B. Factors Influencing the Size of the Federal Offender Population. 5

1. Number of Offences 5

la. Homicide Offences 6

2. Number of Prisoners 8

2a. Imprisonment Rates 9

3. Prison Admissions 10

4. Length of Sentence 12

5. Length of Imprisonment 13

6. Profile of Federal Offenders 14

6a. Long-Term Offenders 15

6b. Older Offenders 16

7. Population Distributions 17

C. Successful Return of Offenders to the Community 18

D. Crime Reduction Through Effective Treatment 22

E. Reintegration Potential 25

1 Copyright of this document d Proper authorization must lm any intended use

Les droits d'auteur du prései pas à l'État. Toute utilisation document doit être approuvé

oes not belong to the Crown. obtained from the author for

It document n'appartiennent du contenu du présent e préalablement par l'auteur.

LIBRA—RY / EIBLIOTHÈQtrE PSEPC/SPPCC

U'e 1 5 2013

OTTAWA (ONTARIO) KI A OP8

2 Research Branch, Correctional Service of Canada


A. Introduction

The federal correctional system is administered by the Correctional Service of Canada.' While its "client group" may be said to be composed of federal offenders 2, the Service is ultimately serving all Canadians.

Citizens have a right to know how well the system is operating, and what measures are being taken to promote and improve public safety. This document is intended to provide interested Canadians with useful and accurate statistics regarding the safe return of federal offenders to the community.

The values and beliefs of the CSC are articulated in its mission document, which has been endorsed by every Solicitor General of Canada since 1988. The mission statement sets out the following:

The CSC, as part of the criminal justice system and respecting the rule of law, contributes to the protection of society by actively encouraging and assisting offenders to become law-abiding citizens, while exercising reasonable, safe, secure and humane control.

The mission statement provides federal corrections with a strategic framework for contributing to the safe return of offenders to the community.

Legally, the CSC operates under the 1992 Corrections and Conditional Release Act. 3 It states that the purpose of the federal corrections system is to contribute to the

maintenance of a just, peaceful and safe society by:

• Carrying out sentences imposed by the courts through the safe and humane custody and supervision of offenders; and

• Assisting in the rehabilitation of offenders and their reintegration into the community as law-abiding citizens through the provision of programs in penitentiaries and in the community.

Of all the factors that influence public safety, the Correctional Service Canada in collaboration with the National Parole Board, can only influence the safe release of offenders into the community. There is solid evidence to support the premise that the gradual and structured release of offenders is the safest strategy for the protection of society against new offences by released offenders.

For example, recidivism studies have found that the percentage of safe returns to the community is higher for supervised offenders than those released with no supervision.

I Also referred to as CSC, or the Service. 2 Offenders serving sentences of two years or more. 3 Corrections and Conditional Release Act, RSC, C-20, 1992.

Research Branch, Correctional Service of Canada 3

Number

The Safe Return of O ffenders to the Community

• In 1971, Irvin Waller conducted a study of 423 offenders who had been released into Southern Ontario during 1968 from Ontario federal penitentiaries. Of the 423 offenders in the study, 210 had been selected for release on early parole and 213 were unconditionally released at the expiry of their sentence. Of these latter, 113 had never applied for parole and 100 did apply but were refused. Waller's study found the following results l :

Arrested within 2 years. (%)

Parolees

Direct discharges

Total

210 82 39%

213 144 68%

423 226 53%

• Of the 210 parolees in the study, 10% (21) were arrested for a violent offence and 29% (61) were arrested for a non-violent offence.

• For the 213 direct discharge offenders, 18% (38) were arrested for a violent offence and 50% (106) were arrested for a non-violent offence.

This early study provided evidence that a gradual, supervised release promoted a safer return of federal offenders to the community.

In another study, Harman and Hann2 looked at federal prisoners who had been released in 1983-1984 to the community. They found;

• Of the 3,267 male offenders returned to the community, 50% re-offended at follow-up three years later.

• Of those who re-offended, 67% were on mandatory release and 30% re-offended while on full parole.

• According to Correctional Service of Canada's Offender Intake Assessment (01A) process, more than 2-in-3 new federal admissions (67%) have served at least one prior custodial term in a provincial adult institution.

• The percentage of federal offenders who previously had been in prison rises to 87%, if we include those federal prisoners who have also served a prior custody term while they were under the age of 18 years.

• However, since 1994, 23% of the admissions to federal prisons have served a prior federal penitentiary term.

The Service is working to better prepare offenders for release and provide them with greater support once they are in the community. These efforts are paying off in terms of higher rates of safe return to the community and lower rates of criminal recidivism.

I Irvin Waller, Men Released from Prison. Centre of Criminology, University of Toronto Press, 1974. 2 William G. Harman and Robert G. Hann, Predicting General Release Risk for Penitentiary Inmates, User Report

Ministry of the Solicitor General of Canada, No. 1986-32.


3.00

2.75

2.50

2.25 cp c!

2.00 - ccO

1.75

1.50 1

1.25 -I 1.00

0.75

1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998


B. Factors Influencing the Size of the Federal Offender Population

B1. Number of Offences

Since 1991, in contrast to earlier periods, the overall trend in the number of offences in Canada has been downward. This is a reversal of the trend over the previous decade, where it generally increased.

• Between 1991 and 1998 there was a 15% decrease in the overall number of offences reported by police.'

• Most categories of violent crime have decreased since 1993, including homicide, sexual assaults and robbery.

Police reported criminal offences in Canada (1982 - 1998)

Source: Uniform Crime Reporting Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada.

Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, "Crime Statistics in Canada, 1998. Juristat, Vol. 19 No. 9, July 1999.



Bla. Homicide Offences

• Homicides account for less than 1% of all violent crime in Canada and have decreased significantly since 1991 — there were 754 homicides in 1991 versus 555 reported in 1998. 1

Homicide in Canadian and American Cities

Despite having incarceration rates that are 5 to 6 times higher, American cities are much more dangerous than comparable Canadian cities. Seven U.S. and Canadian cities were selected to compare homicide and violent crime rates. Cities were matched, for general similarity in size and geographical location.

• In all cases, the homicide rates of the American cities are all higher than their Canadian neighbors, and this would generally be true for any sample of larger American versus Canadian cities.

• Between the matched pairs in the study, the difference in homicide rates is usually quite large (e.g., between Chicago — 28.6 per 100,000 — and Toronto — 2.4 per 100,000).

Homicide rates in comparable US and Canadian Cities, 1996

Municipal Police Force

Population of Homicide Rate

Municipal Area* per 100,000

Vancouver 536,200 5.2 Seattle 539,591 6.9

Calgary 795,900 1.3 Denver 516,224 12.4

Winnipeg 637,600 4.4 Minneapolis 361,595 23.0

Toronto 2,456,300 2.4 Chicago 2,754,118 28.6

Ottawa-Carleton 590,600 1.9 Washington DC 543,000 73.1

Montreal 1,825,700 3.0 Philadelphia 1,528,403 27.8

Halifax NS 204,100 2.4 Norfolk Va. 245,956 24.8

*Note: Crime data are based on reports for municipal police forces, not the wider CMA populations.

I Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, "Homicide in Canada, 1998, Juristat, Vol. 19 No. 10, September 1999. Source: Canadian Crime Statistics 1996 (Statistics Canada). Source (Homicides): UCR Municipal Police Forces 1986-97 (CCJS, Beyond 20/20 Database). Source: BJS, Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 1997 (Note - Chicago violent crime rate is for 1995). Source (Homicides): BJS, Crime in the US, Table 8.


6.26

2.19

2.11

1.95

.83

.78

.43

20.20


Relative to many industrialized countries, Canada ranks below the others in the number of homicides per 100,000 population.

International Comparisons Number of Homicides Per 100,000 Population, 19981

El Russia

El USA

ID Finland

13 Sweden

Cl Scotland

El Canada

El Australia

13 England and Wales

International Comparisons of Criminal Justice Statistics 1998, Gordon C. Barclay and Cynthia Tavares, Research Development and Statistics Directorate, Home Office, Bulletin 04/00-Feb, 2000



B2. Number of Prisoners

The number of prisoners per 100,000 Canadian population is 129.

• For 1996-97, the total number of prisoners (including Adults and Young Offenders) for Canada was 129 per 100,000 total population, as follows:

Rate per Number of Canadian 100,000 prisoners population Canadians

Canada Total 38,987 30,286,596 129

Federal 14,155 30,286,596 47

Provincial/Territorial 19,780 30,286,596 65

Young Offenders* 5,052 30,286,596 17

Source: Ministry of the Solicitor General, data compiled by Corrections Directorate. *Note: Young Offender data for Quebec (since 1995-96) and Ontario (since 1994-95) and the data for 1996-97 are an estimate supplied by the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.


119

120

53

1516

59

I 62

United States 649

86

86

88

90

90

129


B2a. Imprisonment Rates

Comparisons of European and North American imprisonment rates (both adults and youth) for 1997, show Canada's rate was at the high end for Europe, but was significantly below the incarceration rate of the United States (see Chart below).

International Comparisons Number of prisoners in Europe and North America

Per 100,000 Population, 1997

0 Norway

0 Finland

0 Sweden

0 Denmark

0 Austria

0 Italy

CI Switzerland

0 Germany

0 France

0 Scotland

El England

Canada

Source: Corrections and Conditional Release Statistical Overview, Ministry of the Solicitor General, November 1999.


• Sentenced Admissions Il Remand Admissions liTotal Admissions

B3. Prison Admissions

Offenders admitted' to provincial/territorial prisons have been declining in recent years.

Provincial/Territorial Prison Admissions

• A notable increase in annual admissions over the period 1990 to 1994 contributed significantly to a rapid expansion in prison custody populations in the provincial/territorial jurisdictions.

• The number of provincial/territorial admissions peaked in 1992-93 (federal admissions peaked one year later). This growth was predominately caused by the increase in the remand (non-sentenced) admissions between 1985-86 and 1991-92, as shown in the following Chart.

Provincial/Territorial Annual Prison Admissions

300 000

250 000 — -

200 000 —.

150 000 — -

100 000 —I 50 000 —

0

6 '1 % 0 0 '■ rt, ch eN 0 0 0 0 6 6 'l 6 0 0 cb cb 0 0 0 0 0 cb 0 0 cb cb 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Source: Adult Correctional Services Survey, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada.

Nu

mbe

r of

Ad

mis

sio

ns

I Offenders may be admitted more than once during the year.



1.60 —Canadian Population

— 0—*Crime

— 0--Federal Admissions

—0--Federal Prisoners

1.40 -I

1.20

1.00

0.80


Admissions to federal penitentiaries have fluctuated over recent years.

Federal Prison Admissions

• New federal admissions' increased about 30% between 1985-86 and 1993-94, from 4,100 to 5,100. This contributed in large measure to the rapid growth of the federal prison population in the early 1990s. After peaking in 1993-94, admissions declined to 4,412 in 1997-98.

Canadian Population, Crime, Prison Admissions and Prisoners (1982 - 1998)

gal• et` (113 43 ce t`b e e eeeeee e e e e e e e e e e e e e i■C5 e e e e


• While the Canadian population steadily increases, the number of offences reported by police decrease in 1991, the number of federal admissions peak in 1993-94, and the federal prison population increases until 1997.

1982

= 1

.00

Federal admissions with a Court ordered sentence (commonly referred to as warrant of committal admissions). Offenders may also be admitted by transfer from other countries or readmitted for revocation of a parole or statutory release.


Nu

mbe

r o

f Mon

ths

so

48

46

44

42


B4. Length of Sentence

Prisoners in the federal system with a fixed sentence are receiving slightly shorter sentences by the courts.

• The length of sentence being served by an offender determines not only how much time will be spent in a penitentiary, but also the earliest possible date for supervised release into the community.

• Between 1986-87 and 1996-97, the average lengthl of sentence for offenders entering the federal system with new sentences declined from a high point of 47 months to a low point of 43 months. In 1997-98, there was a slight rise, however, it is too early to tell if this will be a trend.

Average Sentence Length at Admission

401

1986- 1987- 1988- 1989- 1990- 1991- 1992- 1993- 1994- 1995- 1996- 1997- 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98

Source: Adult Correctional Services in Canada, 1997-98. Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada.

I Note: Average length of sentence is arrived at by dividing the aggregate sentences of those admitted by the number of admissions. Life and indeterminate sentences are excluded.


66. Profile of Federal Offenders

Eventually, almost every incarcerated offender will be released from prison after serving the sentence prescribed by the courts. The challenge for the Service is to provide programs and supervision that will enable the offender to safely reintegrate into the community. To meet this challenge, it is essential to understand the composition of the federal prison population, and the obstacles faced by many offenders.

Roughly 8 out of 10 offenders admitted to federal institutions have a previous youth or adult court conviction. Since November 1994, about 18,800 new offenders have been admitted to federal institutions:

• 23% of these federal offenders have served a prior sentence in a Young Offender secure custody facility.

• 67% have served a prior sentence in an adult Provincial prison.

• And when combined, 86% have served either a previous Young Offender or adult provincial prison sentence.

• 23% have served a previous federal prison sentence.

The characteristics of the federal prison population is as follows:

• Roughly 80% of federal prisoners have a violent offence history.

• 2,998 or 25% are homicide offenders.

• 2,307 or 19% are sex offenders.

• 4,322 or 36% are robbery. offenders.

• 2,574 or 22% are drug offenders.

• (Note: Offenders overlap as some may be in more than one offence category.)

• About half have less than a grade 8 education.

• 75% have unstable job histories.

• Most (two thirds) are single.

• Half claim to have had dysfunctional parents.

• About 70% abuse alcohol and/or drugs.

• 75% are poor at problem solving, 66% are unable to generate choices and 70% are considered to be impulsive.

• At admission, 17% have been hospitalized in a mental health facility, 6% have a current psychiatric diagnosis and 10% have been prescribed medication.


1


B6a. Long-Term Offenders

Long-term offenders make up a large part of the federal offender population. As of September 1999, there were 7,449 men and 186 women serving sentences of ten years or more. 1

• The 7,449 men serving 10 years or more make up 38% of the total population of male offenders. 67% of them are in prison.2

• The 186 women serving 10 years or more make up 25% of the total population of female offenders. 50% of them are in prison.

As of September 1999, a total of 5,500 men and 141 women were serving life sentences. 3

• Of the 5,500 men serving life sentences, 69% were in prison.

• Of the 141 women serving life sentences, 57% were in prison.

I Research Information Services, Research Branch, Correctional Service of Canada. 2 Although only 20% of new admissions are long-term offenders, they make up 38% of the prison population because of

their longer incarceration period. 3 Global Report on Crime and Justice, United Nations 1999


0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1

0

Ages 18-29 Ages 30-39 Ages 40-49 Ages 50+

1994 1999

B6b. Older Offenders

The population offederal offender's aged 50 and over is growing at a much faster rate than that of younger offenders.

• Factors to be considered in dealing with aging offenders include: medical care, adjustment to prison, rehabilitation programs, prison environment and violence, peer, family relationships and community release.

Federal Prisoners are Younger than the Canadian Population

CIFederal inmates (/o)

1 • Canadian population (%)

• In 1999 there were 1,354 older inmates, an increase of 229 (or from 9.6% to 11.1%) since 1994.

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

• Age 65 +

• Age 60-64

El Age 55-59

II Age 50-54

• Under 50

Source: Research Information Services, Research Branch, Correctional Service of Canada.


•

1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 1991

—IM— I n a FE deral Institution

--fr—Under Supervision in the Community


B7. Population Distributions

The proportion of federal offenders under community supervision has declined since 1991.

Federal Offenders in Custody and in the Community

Year Offender Institutional Population Population

Community Supervision Population

1991 20,117 11,289 56% 8,828 44%

1992 20,895 11,783 56% 9,112 44%

1993 21,670 12,342 57% 9,328 43%

1994 22,850 13,322 58% 9,528 42%

1995 22, 951 13, 948 61% 9, 003 39%

1996 23,003 14,055 61% 8,948 39%

1997 22, 938 14, 143 62% 8, 795 38%

1998 23,042 13,752 60% 9,290 40%

1999 22, 127 13, 131 59% 8,996 41%

Proportion of Federal Offenders in an Institution or under Supervision in the Community



70%

60%

50%

40%

30%


C. Successful Return of Offenders to the Community

Conditional release programs (i.e., day parole, full parole or statutory release) are based on the premise that a period of supervised transition from prison to the community enhances public safety and the rehabilitation of offenders.

The 1998 report found considerable evidence to support the premise that a period of supervised transition from prison to the community enhances public safety and the rehabilitation of offenders l . In particular, the process of selection for parole (discretionary release) based on the assessment of risk to re-offend and decision-making is effective in identifying those offenders who will successfully reintegrate into the community.

Day Parole is the authority granted to an offender by the National Parole Board to be at large during the offender's sentence in order to prepare them for full parole or statutory release. The offender is required to return to a penitentiary or community-based residential facility each night.

Under Full Parole, the offender is not required to return to a facility at night, but does have conditions imposed on his or her liberty (activities, associations, location, etc.).

Statutory Release occurs after 2/3 of sentence. As with full and day parole, offenders are supervised until the end of their sentence.

• Day Parolees comprise 12%-20% of the conditional release population and generally remain under supervision for up to 6 months.

• The absolute number of day paroles granted declined from 3,896 in 1994-95 to 3,805 in 1998-99.

• Full Parolees make up 50%-60% of offenders in the community. They remain under supervision for the longest periods (e.g., up to two thirds of sentence, or 16 months on a 24-month sentence).

• The absolute number of full paroles granted declined from 2,204 in 1994-95 to 2,118 in 1998-99.

• Statutory Releases make up about one third of offenders in the community and account for 50% of annual releases from federal institutions.

I Solicitor General Canada, Towards a Just, Peaceful and Safe Society - The Corrections and Conditional Release Act Five Years Later.



The yearly success rates in 1998-99 for day parole, full parole and statutory releases are among the highest in recent years. From a public safety perspective, offenders granted a discretionary release (e.g., a Day Parole or Full Parole) and properly supervised in the community demonstrate very high levels of success.

• Day parole: There were 93.9% who did not recidivate l including 99.3% without a new violent offence.

• Full parole: There were 86.8% who did not recidivate including 98.4% without a new violent offence.

• Statutory releases: There were 86.0% who did not recidivate including 97.4% without a new violent offence.

Non-violent New Violent Recidivism Offences

Type of Release N % %

Day Parole 3,463 5.4 0.7

Full Parole 1,609 11.6 1.6

Statutory 4,852 11.4 2.6 Releases

Source: Corrections and Conditional Release Statistical Overview, Ministry of the Solicitor General, November 1999.

Serious offences committed by parolees vary depending on the type of release mechanism under which an offender re-enters the community.

• The rates of charge for serious offences (12 per 1,000) among day parolees and full parolees are the lowest in recent years.

• Offenders on statutory release are 3 to 5 times more likely to be charged with serious offences than offenders on full parole.

• An examination of new crimes after sentence completion indicates that between 1986-87 and 1996-97, approximately 9 of every 10 offenders who reached warrant expiry on full parole were not readmitted to a federal institution.

I Recidivism is the revocation of a parole for committing a new offence. It differs from a revocation for a violation of a condition of parole (a technical revocation) where no criminal incident occurred.


UCR Crime Category Per 1,000

Crimes


While offenders on statutory release have somewhat lower success rates, the majority of them can and do succeed in the community each year. Those who do not succeed present an important argument for releasing offenders with a longer period of community supervision before the expiry of their sentence, as is usually the case with full parole.'

The following table depicts the number of crimes for which federal offenders under supervision in the community during the 1998 calendar year received a conviction for offences occurring that same year. 2

• During 1998 federal offenders received 14,879 different periods of community supervision (representing 11,895 offenders, some offenders received more than one release).

• 987 (or 6.6%) of these release periods resulted in a re-admission in 1998 because a new crime had been committed.

• A total of 2.7 million offences were reported in 1998, of these 2,486 new convictions were recorded (by August 1999) against these offenders under supervision in the community, an average of about 2.5 new convictions for each of the 987 re-admissions.

UCR Crime Survey 19983

Offences Committed by Federal Offenders During 1998

While on Release

Violent Offences — 266,417 291 1.1 Non-Sexual

Sex Offences 28,952 16 0.6

Drug Offences 71,293 72 1.0

Property and 2,300,048 2,107 0.9 Others

Total 2,666,710 2,486 0.9

Source: CSC, Research Branch and MIC Section (OMS Data), CCJS, Uniform Crime Reporting Survey.

I Ministry of the Solicitor General, Consolidated Report: The Corrections and Conditional Release Act Five Years Later, March 1998.

2 OMS records may understate the number of offenders admitted for revocation with offence because at the time admissions are recorded some new offences may not yet have been discovered. Discovery occurs after offenders have been admitted as a revocation without offence. However, these statistics reflect all offences and counts that had come to light by August 1999.

3 CCJS, "Crime Statistics in Canada, 1998, Juristat, Catalogue 85-002 Vol. 19 No. 9, July 1999.


Total Criminal Code and Drug Offences Known to Police:

2,666,710

Total New Convictions by Federal Offenders on Conditional Release:

2,486 \/


As a proportion of all crimes reported in the 1998 UCR survey, federal offenders re-admitted with a new conviction were therefore responsible for about 0.9 of every 1,000 federal statute offences reported to police in 1998, including:

• 1 of every 1,000 violent offences. • 0.6 of every 1,000 sexual offences.

• 1 of every 1,000 drug offences. • 0.9 of every 1,000 property or other federal statute offences.

Released Federal Offenders Contribution to Crime — 1998

Estimated Convictions in Adult Court:

312,775*

Estimated Cases Given a Prison Sentence:

103,155*

*Adjusted for Missing Data Source: CCJS, Crime Statistics in Canada, 1998; CCJS, Adult Criminal Court Statistics 1997-98; CSC, MIC Section, August 1999.


"A Two Year Follow-up of Federal Offenders who Participated in the Adult Basic Education (ABE) Program" (R. Boe, 1998, R-60)

Compared a sample of male federal offenders who participated in ABE with a national sample of paroled offenders. Follow-up period of 2 years.

Education

"An Outcome Evaluation of CSC Substance Abuse Programs: OSAPP, ALTO, and Choices Executive Summary (T3 Associates)

Compared a sample of male federal offenders who participated in OSAPP with a matched sample of offenders. Follow-up period of 1 year.

Substance Abuse


D. Crime Reduction Through Effective Treatment

Target Study Design/Sample Result

• 718 paroled offenders who completed ABE-8 program had a 7.1% reduction in re-admissions (from 24% for the benchmark group to 22.3% in the program group).

• 74 paroled offenders who completed ABE-10 program had a 21.3% reduction in re-admissions (from 24% for the benchmark group to 18.9% in the program group).

Employment "Prison Work Programs and Post-release Outcome: A Preliminary Investigation" (L. Motiuk & R. Belcourt, 1996, R-43)

Compared a sample of male federal offenders who participated in CORCAN with a national sample of paroled offenders. Follow-up period of 1.5 years.

• 52 paroled offenders who participated fully in the prison industries program (CORCAN) had a 27.8% reduction in re-admissions (from 26.6% for the benchmark group to 19.2% in the program group).

• 2,432 offenders completed OSAPP and showed a 14% reduction in re-admissions (from 49% for the benchmark group to 42% in the program group) and 31% reduction in new convictions (from 21.9% for the benchmark group to 15.2% in the program group).


"Anger Management Programming for Federal Inmates: An Effective Intervention" (C. Dowden et. AI, 1999, R-82)

Compared a matched sample of male federal offenders to an untreated comparison group. Matched on age, risk and major offence. Average follow-up period of 1.5 years.


Target

Personal/ Emotional

Study

"The Impact of Cognitive Skills Training on Post-release Recidivism among Canadian Federal Offenders" (D. Robinson, 1995, R-41)

Design/Sample

Compared a sample of federal offenders who completed Cognitive Skills Training with offenders who remained on the waiting list without programming.

Result

• 1,444 offenders who completed cognitive skills training demonstrated an 11% reduction in re-admissions to prison and 20% reduction in new convictions.

• 56 higher risk offenders completed the Anger Management program and showed a 69% reduction in non-violent recidivism (from 39.3% for the benchmark group to 12.5% in the program group) and 86% reduction in violent recidivism (from 25% for the benchmark group to 3.6% in the program group).

Sex Offenders

"Applying the Risk Principle to Sex Offender Treatment" (A. Gordon & T. Nicholaichuk, 1996, FORUM,

Compared treated male sex offenders with a national sample of sex offenders. Follow-up of two years.

• 80 higher risk sex offenders on the Clearwater Unit program showed a 58.9% reduction in sexual recidivism (from 14.6% for the bench-mark group to 6.0% in the program group).

"A Mutti-year Multi-modal review of Sex Offender Programs in Federal Corrections" (L. Motiuk, 1998, le Annual Research and Treatment Conference for the Association for Treatment of Sexual Abusers.

Compared treated male sex offenders with a national sample of all released sex offenders. Follow-up of three years

• 210 treated sex offenders showed a 50% reduction in sexual recidivism (from 6% for the benchmark group to 3% in the program group).



Target

Violent Offenders

Study

"Intensive Programming for Violent Offenders: A Comparative Investigation" (L. Motiuk et al., 1996, FORUM, 8 (3».

Design/Sample

Compared a matched sample of treated male federal offenders with a violent offence history to an untreated comparison group. Matched on release date, age at release, and sentence length. Average follow-up two years.

Result

• 60 higher risk offenders with a violent offence history completed the intensive program for violent offenders and showed a 12.5% reduction in general recidivism (from 40% for the benchmark group to 35% in the program group) and 16.7% reduction in violent recidivism (from 18% for the benchmark group to 15% in the program group).



E. Reintegration Potential

As of November 1999, the total offender population in federal prisons was 12,9821.

• There are 6,696 first-time federal and 6,217 who have served previous sentences in federal prisons.

• The 6,696 first-time federal offenders make up 52% of the total incarcerated population.

• The 6,217 recidivists make up 48% of the total incarcerated population.

Past Full Parole Eligibility

• 6,172 offenders are past their full parole eligibility date. These represent 48% of the total incarcerated population.

• There are 2,299 first-time federal offenders and 3,873 recidivists past their full parole eligibility date.

• The 2,299 first-time federal offenders past their full parole eligibility date make up 30% of the total incarcerated population.

Current offender risk assessment strategies and standards of practice should help to identify at the time of admission those federal offenders with potential for successful reintegration.

For example, federal offenders with high reintegration potential at time of admission might be defined as low-risk offenders or moderate-risk offenders who are manageable in the community with prescriptive intervention and appropriate supervision. Offenders with medium reintegration potential at time of admission might be re-evaluated as offenders having high reintegration potential upon successful program completion at time of parole eligibility.

In September of 1998, an analysis of the available individual admission assessments of the offender population past their full parole eligibility date indicates that over half of these offenders had high or medium reintegration potential.

I Corporate Information Services, EIS Inmate Profiles, Correctional Service of Canada, November 1999. Research Branch, Correctional Service of Canada 25

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