Prisons

New support for released prisoners in south Etobicoke http://t.co/PhFp5k54Yn via @torontostar
— Crim Library UTL (@CrimLib) August 4, 2014

Women Inmates On The Rise
The number of women in federal prisons could go up with the abolition of early parole provisions by the federal government, according to a University of Toronto criminology professor.

The number and proportion of female inmates had been increasing in both provincial and federal prisons even before the parole changes.....

And with the end of the federal accelerated parole system, the numbers could go even higher, says Kelly Hannah-Moffat, a professor and director of the Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies at U of T.

Beyond Youth Custody.  Resettlement Of Girls And Young Women: Research Report
This report addresses a worrying gap in the knowledge about the effective resettlement of girls and young women. Reviewing research literature in a number of relevant areas, it cross-references evidence of what works in the resettlement of young people with what we know about the wider need of girls and young women. This iterative synthesis approach thus provides a gender-sensitive approach to inform policy and practice development in resettlement for this specific group.

In New York's Largest Jail, Teens Face "Brute Force" And Intimidation That Horrifies Even Prosecutors
In the second-largest jail in the nation, teens are beaten more frequently than not. They are placed in solitary confinement for disciplinary infractions that would be considered typical adolescent behavior outside of jail. And inmates, medical staff, and even teachers, are intimidated out of reporting violence by corrections officers, according to a scathing new Department of Justice report.

Read the Dept. of Justice Report

This New Jersey Reform Stops Judges From Jailing Some Defendants Just Because They Are Poor
In New Jersey, inmates spend an average of ten months behind bars just waiting to go to trial. Many have the option to post bail. But a study last year found that some 40 percent of those in pretrial detention would have been released had they been able to afford bail.

On Monday, the New Jersey legislature passed a package of bills to remove financial need from bail determinations, with the strong support of Gov. Chris Christie (R).

Holder: Data-Driven Prison Sentencing "Unfair" To Minorities
Attorney General Eric Holder on Friday expressed concern about the fairness of judges who rely on big data to sentence criminal defendants, saying the use of such “risk assessments” in several states could exacerbate racial disparities among the prison population.

Holder, who made the comments during a Philadelphia speech to criminal defense lawyers, said the use of such data results in unfair treatment of minorities.

CCLA Report:  "Set up to Fail: Bail and the Revolving Door of Pre-trial Detention"

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) has released a report: Set Up to Fail: Bail and the Revolving Door of Pre-trial Detention, which questions the extensive rise in pre-trial custody populations and identifies the extreme personal and financial costs of current practices in Canadian bail courts.

Despite a falling crime rate, the remand rate in Canada has nearly tripled in the past 30 years. Currently the majority of people detained in provincial and territorial jails are legally innocent, waiting for their trial or a determination of their bail. 2005 marked the first time in Canadian history that our provincial institutions were primarily being used to detain people prior to any finding of guilt, rather than after they had been convicted and sentenced.

Access the full report.

Why Canada’s bail system creates more crimes than it prevents

A troubling new report from the John Howard Society

If you ever find yourself arrested for a crime you didn’t commit, hope it happens in Prince Edward Island. At least then you’d have a decent chance of getting out on bail before your trial. Manitoba would be your least-preferred option.

A report earlier this month from the John Howard Society of Ontario reveals a host of problems with bail as it currently operates in that province. Combined with data from other provinces, it’s apparent our country’s bail system requires a major overhaul, in the name of fairness and efficiency, not to mention the concept of innocent until proven guilty.

Bail allows individuals accused of crimes to enjoy their liberty until a court decides their fate. Unlike the American system of an upfront cash bail requirement—familiar to anyone who’s ever read an Elmore Leonard or Janet Evanovich novel, or watched Law & Order—Canadian bail instead relies on sureties. No money is demanded immediately. Rather, the accused may be released into the care of a friend or relative who forfeits a set sum of money if the individual skips town or otherwise fails to abide by the conditions of his release.


But while the right to “reasonable bail” is enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, it has become steadily more difficult to obtain, subjected to an increasing number of unreasonable conditions and transformed into something akin to extrajudicial punishment.

Read on...