Holding fewer people on remand does not harm public safety
Post #166 675 words; 3 minutes to read As readers of this blog know, the bulk of people in provincial jails in Canada – more than 60%, or about 15,000 people on any given day – are held despite not...
Read MoreHarms of remand – evidence from Denmark
Post #153 650 words; 3 minutes to read The majority (about 60%) of people held in provincial jails in Canada have not been found guilty of anything and this pattern has been getting worse in recent years. They are being...
Read MoreWomen in remand
700 words, 3 minutes to read Post #147 The majority of people held in Canadian provincial jails are on remand – that is, they have not been found guilty of a crime but are being held anyway for a range...
Read MoreInequality and racism as central themes
450 words; 2 minutes to read Issues of inequality and racism are at the very forefront of the news in Canada. The criminal justice system is often cited as a place where these problems are notable. These issues have been...
Read MoreElectronic ankle monitors have serious problems
760 words; 3 minutes to read One of the alternatives increasingly considered – and used – instead of jailing people is the use of electronic monitors. These can be an alternative for bail; people charged with a crime can return...
Read MorePresumption of innocence is often a myth
830 words; 4 minutes to read We are told, and believe, that the presumption of innocence is a core concept in Canadian law. Nobody is or should be presumed guilty until they plead guilty or are convicted in a court...
Read MoreThe sorry state of provincial jails
630 words; 3 minutes to read The recent release of a new report from the federal Correctional investigator yet again shows the many serious deficiencies in Canada’s prisons, and the indifference of the government to fix these despite many protestations...
Read MoreMajor problems in Ontario jails and courts
1000 words; 5 minutes to read. A recent report on the Ontario Ministry of Corrections by the Auditor General found significant problems that involve not just waste of public money, but even more seriously, negative consequences for many people enmeshed...
Read MoreElection issue 2 – Why ‘tough on bail’ is bad policy
940 words; 4 minutes to read Several political leaders have recently made statements calling for making it harder, if not impossible, for people charged with certain kinds of offencss to get bail. The Conservative Party platform specifically calls for no...
Read MoreThe Hidden Epidemic of False Guilty Pleas
By Caroline Erentzen, York University and colleagues (more information at the end of the post) This post is just under 1000 words and can be read in 4-5 minutes. In the late 1980s, a series of DNA-based exonerations shook the...
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