Link to John Howard Ontario Report on mental illness and criminal justice in Ontario: http://t.co/PAgOaOqTBo
— John Howard Society (@JohnHoward_Can) August 18, 2015
Your resource for news, research, opinion and comment in the world of Criminology and Criminal Justice, brought to you by the Criminology Library, Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies, University of Toronto
Showing posts with label Ontario. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ontario. Show all posts
Sharing police data should be fair, standardized, Kathleen Wynne says http://t.co/GdcMUgYRgi via @torontostar
— Crim Library UTL (@CrimLib) July 25, 2014
See Canadian Civil Liberties Association reports on police record checks and the New Police Record Checks Guideline, released by the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police
Ontario jail overcrowding at six-year high, sparking violence behind bars
Nearly half of Ontario's jails are
overcrowded, a six-year high that sees cells meant for two people at
times hold three or more as the province struggles with a rising tide of
inmates who have yet to have their day in court.
Statistics by the Ministry of Community
Safety and Corrections reveal that on an average day last year 14 of the
province's 29 jails held more prisoners than they were designed for.
The jump in overcrowding comes as no
surprise to Shawn, who was recently released from the jam-packed
Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre in London, Ont., after 18 months in
pretrial custody.
He says overcrowding forced him to flop down
on a narrow stretch of floor between two occupied beds in a cramped
seven-by-two metre cell. Lying on a thin, worn mattress he had to rest
his head next to the shared toilet.
Ontario ombudsman says jail staff committing ‘brazen acts of violence’
Some prison guards in
Ontario beat convicts, then lie about their injuries, scare them into
silence and force their colleagues to do the same, says the province’s
ombudsman in a damning report on jailhouse violence.
André Marin’s report
includes photos of inmates, their eyes swollen shut, their faces covered
in blood, and the stories of the prison guards who tried to get away
with the attacks.
“Punching, slapping,
kicking, stomping on someone who is under control, under restraints, is
inexcusable and morally repugnant,” Marin said at a news conference
Tuesday.
“Regardless of why they are incarcerated, inmates are human beings and they deserve respect, dignity and humane treatment.”
Read on...
Read on...
Unequal justice: Behind the Ontario jail data and Toronto Star analysis
Ontario's Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services was
quick to release adult data, but children’s ministry fought the request
The data that serve as the foundation for this look at Ontario jail
populations by ethnicity was obtained through freedom of information
requests by Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, a University of Toronto doctoral
candidate.
While the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services was
quick to release adult data, the Ministry of Children and Youth
Services, which oversees youth incarceration, fought the request, citing
privacy concerns.
The youth ministry also argued that Owusu-Bempah ought to have made a
research proposal, as opposed to an FOI. It initially said the requested
ethnicity data — with the exception of aboriginal people — did not
exist, and, finally, that producing it would cause hardship to the
ministry.
Following a successful appeal by Owusu-Bempah and
an order
by the Information and Privacy Commissioner, the youth ministry released the data.
Read on...
Read on...
Analysis: Why we should worry about who we’re jailing
Akwasi Owusu-Bempah of the University of Toronto’s Centre for
Criminology and Sociolegal Studies analyzes why blacks and aboriginals
are overrepresented in Ontario correctional system, and why this
matters.
It may be of little
surprise to some, but the over-incarceration of First Nations and
African-Canadian people in Ontario should be of concern to everyone in
this country.
The overrepresentation
of these two groups in Ontario’s correctional system signals that
aboriginals and blacks are either disproportionately involved in crime
or they face discrimination in the administration of justice; available
research indicates both to be true.
Why should we work to remedy this?
As the situation in
many American states has made apparent, using incarceration as a means
of controlling populations that are viewed as problematic in an effort
to reduce crime is a costly endeavour that further intensifies the
problems facing these communities rather than making them better. A
smarter approach would be to deal with the causes of crime rather than
the consequences. This is particularly true in the face of Prime
Minister Stephen Harper’s tough-on-crime agenda.
Read on...
Read on...
Ontario court reinforces laws to protect women from harrassment
In an important decision for the legal treatment of abused women,
Ontario’s top court has found that stalking and verbal threats can be
just as severe as physical attacks.
The province’s Court of Appeal upheld a sentence of 5 1/2 years in the case of a man who subjected a woman he had recently met to a barrage of harassing phone calls and letters, including two sent while he was in jail awaiting trial.
Patrick James Doherty argued that, because he did not assault his victim, he should receive a lesser sentence. The court rejected his reasoning.
The victim “suffered mentally and physically as a result of the appellant’s harassment. She lost weight, lost sleep and was anxious and worried about what he may do to her,” wrote Justice Dennis O’Connor of the court’s unanimous decision. “The impact on her was magnified each time he ignored her pleas to stop, the police warnings and the court orders.”
It all began in November of last year when Agnieszka Mikulska posted a classified advertisement online, seeking a roommate for her Kitchener, Ont., apartment. Mr. Doherty responded. Initially polite, he became angry when Ms. Mikulska picked someone else to live with her.
Read on...
The province’s Court of Appeal upheld a sentence of 5 1/2 years in the case of a man who subjected a woman he had recently met to a barrage of harassing phone calls and letters, including two sent while he was in jail awaiting trial.
Patrick James Doherty argued that, because he did not assault his victim, he should receive a lesser sentence. The court rejected his reasoning.
The victim “suffered mentally and physically as a result of the appellant’s harassment. She lost weight, lost sleep and was anxious and worried about what he may do to her,” wrote Justice Dennis O’Connor of the court’s unanimous decision. “The impact on her was magnified each time he ignored her pleas to stop, the police warnings and the court orders.”
It all began in November of last year when Agnieszka Mikulska posted a classified advertisement online, seeking a roommate for her Kitchener, Ont., apartment. Mr. Doherty responded. Initially polite, he became angry when Ms. Mikulska picked someone else to live with her.
Read on...
Star gets action: Crown must now report police who lie
Ontario’s Crown attorneys will soon be required to report cases where they believe police officers have lied under oath.
The new policy comes after a Star investigation earlier this year that found more than 100 cases of police deception in Ontario and across the country.
The Star also found that Ontario, like most provinces, had no formal mechanism to investigate allegations of police lying in court.
“When there are concerns raised about the integrity of our justice system, we take them very seriously,” said Attorney General John Gerretsen, who ordered his ministry probe the issue in April following the Star investigation.
“It is important that we determine whether those concerns are warranted. If so, we must do something to address them. That is exactly what we have done here.”
Read on...
The new policy comes after a Star investigation earlier this year that found more than 100 cases of police deception in Ontario and across the country.
The Star also found that Ontario, like most provinces, had no formal mechanism to investigate allegations of police lying in court.
“When there are concerns raised about the integrity of our justice system, we take them very seriously,” said Attorney General John Gerretsen, who ordered his ministry probe the issue in April following the Star investigation.
“It is important that we determine whether those concerns are warranted. If so, we must do something to address them. That is exactly what we have done here.”
Read on...
Police who lie: Attorney general orders probe of police deception
Ontario’s chief prosecutor will probe the issue of police officers who are found by judges to have lied in court.
Attorney General John Gerretsen made the announcement Monday following a Toronto Star investigation that found more than 100 cases of police deception in Ontario and across the country.
“The most important thing is that people tell the truth in court. The question really becomes: if a judge makes a serious comment (about an officer’s testimony) what should happen?” said Gerretsen.
James Cornish, chief prosecutor for Ontario, has been asked to look into the matter and report back by early summer. Cornish formerly headed the Special Investigations Unit, the province’s police watchdog.
“We should do whatever we can at our level of the administration of justice to make sure that people have faith and belief in the system. And if there are areas in which we can improve that, we should do so,” Gerretsen said.
Read on...
Here are two previous stories in this series:
Attorney General John Gerretsen made the announcement Monday following a Toronto Star investigation that found more than 100 cases of police deception in Ontario and across the country.
“The most important thing is that people tell the truth in court. The question really becomes: if a judge makes a serious comment (about an officer’s testimony) what should happen?” said Gerretsen.
James Cornish, chief prosecutor for Ontario, has been asked to look into the matter and report back by early summer. Cornish formerly headed the Special Investigations Unit, the province’s police watchdog.
“We should do whatever we can at our level of the administration of justice to make sure that people have faith and belief in the system. And if there are areas in which we can improve that, we should do so,” Gerretsen said.
Read on...
Here are two previous stories in this series:
Police who lie: For hollering at police, a man was beaten and Tasered
Police who lie: National police body says justice system needs to act over liesOntario jail closures will send costs soaring: critics
Plans by Ontario’s cash-strapped Liberal government to close three jails to save money will spark major court delays, send transportation costs soaring and devastate rural communities, critics charge.
Jails in Owen Sound and Walkerton will close Sunday, while a third in Sarnia is slated for the chopping block in 2013.
But it’s not too late for the Liberals to reverse a decision that will actually end up costing taxpayers more in the end, critics say.
The government insists the closures, spelled out in last spring’s budget, will save $8 million a year by moving the inmates to newer and larger facilities in Windsor and Penetanguishene, north of Barrie.
Hudak revives law-and-order message, pledges public sex-offender registry in Ontario
The Conservative campaign vowed to make the province’s sex-offender registry public and to place monitoring bracelets on anyone police consider to be at a high risk to offend.
The party’s platform has a heavy focus on law and order, but Mr. Hudak spent the first week of the campaign focusing on the Liberals' plan to provide a $10,000 tax credit for companies who hire immigrants and on his plan to reduce taxes to create jobs.
“I will create a sex-offender registry and make it public so moms and dads will know if there’s a child predator in their neighbourhood and take the right precautions,” he said.
Surrounded by a group of parents who earlier this month found out sex offender Sarah Dahle was living next to a neighbourhood school in a halfway house, Mr. Hudak said his program would make it easier to keep track of high-risk offenders, and keep parents informed about who is living next door.
They don't work. Tom
Court to rule on whether law that makes public nudity criminal is unconstitutional
An Ontario court judge will hear arguments Tuesday about whether laws that make it a criminal offence to be nude in public are unconstitutional and should be struck down.
Lawyers for Brian Coldin will argue it should not automatically be a criminal offence to be without clothes in public and that discretion of prosecuting people for being nude should be left up to police.
Ontario court strikes down Canada’s pot laws
An Ontario court has struck down Canada’s laws against possessing and growing cannabis as part of a ruling that found the country’s medicinal marijuana program is failing to provide access to the drug for those who need it.
Smoking up, however, is not legal just yet: the federal government has three months to launch an appeal or change its regulations to fix the problems identified by the court.
Mr. Justice Donald Taliano of the Ontario Superior Court struck down the Marihuana Medical Access Regulations, arguing they aren’t doing enough to ensure patients can obtain the necessary approvals to use the drug. Simultaneously, he ruled two sections of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act – those that prohibit simple possession and cultivating marijuana – are unconstitutional, since they can be used to criminally charge medicinal users who haven’t been able to obtain such approval.
Is infanticide a legitimate defence?
A lawyer for the province’s attorney general will ask the Ontario Court of Appeal to rule that a mother who intentionally kills her child while mentally disturbed or suffering postpartum depression can’t defend herself by arguing the crime was infanticide, punishable by up to five years in prison.
Ontario to tighten use of stun guns
Ontario is introducing new guidelines and training standards for police officers using tasers.
Two years ago the ministry of community safety and correctional services undertook a review of tasers or conducted energy weapons. The review was launched after the death of Polish immigrant Robert Dziekanski in a B.C. airport in 2007.
Recommendations from the review include tighter circumstances and restrictions for use, post-deployment reporting procedures and beefed up training.
This doesn't jive with something I read last week. I'll see if I can find it. Tom
Ontario rejects call to ban use of stun guns on minors
February 05, 2009 The Canadian Press
Toronto
Calls to ban the use of stun guns on young people were rejected yesterday by the Ontario government, which said such a move would be a "knee-jerk reaction" that prevents police from using the devices before a study can provide guidance on their safety.
Read on...
Not encouraging. Tom
Toronto
Calls to ban the use of stun guns on young people were rejected yesterday by the Ontario government, which said such a move would be a "knee-jerk reaction" that prevents police from using the devices before a study can provide guidance on their safety.
Read on...
Not encouraging. Tom
Ontario to place prosecutors in police stations
Idea one of several to streamline lengthy trials recommended in new report
KIRK MAKIN
From Friday's Globe and Mail
November 28, 2008 at 5:00 AM EST
Ontario's Ministry of the Attorney-General will combat a plague of sprawling mega-trials by installing on-site prosecutors in police stations and creating superjudges to deal with pretrial motions early and swiftly.
"We are going to have our major-case Crowns located right in with the police, so that we have a close-working collaborative relationship with the police very early on in these major cases," Attorney-General Chris Bentley said in an interview yesterday.
He said he has already begun to implement some of the 41 recommendations in a keenly awaited report on how to stop the spread of costly, runaway criminal trials - scheduled for release today and obtained by The Globe and Mail yesterday.
Read on...
Crimbrary will post a link to the report when it becomes available. Tom
KIRK MAKIN
From Friday's Globe and Mail
November 28, 2008 at 5:00 AM EST
Ontario's Ministry of the Attorney-General will combat a plague of sprawling mega-trials by installing on-site prosecutors in police stations and creating superjudges to deal with pretrial motions early and swiftly.
"We are going to have our major-case Crowns located right in with the police, so that we have a close-working collaborative relationship with the police very early on in these major cases," Attorney-General Chris Bentley said in an interview yesterday.
He said he has already begun to implement some of the 41 recommendations in a keenly awaited report on how to stop the spread of costly, runaway criminal trials - scheduled for release today and obtained by The Globe and Mail yesterday.
Read on...
Crimbrary will post a link to the report when it becomes available. Tom
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