Desistance from crime is the norm
This post is about 950 words and can be reach in about 4 minutes. Increasing evidence shows that most people who commit crimes stop doing so as they get older. This finding, called one of the strongest in the whole...
Read MoreThe Dutch Are Closing Prisons
This post is about 1000 words and can be read in about 5 minutes. This is a shortened version of the original article from usnews.com by Danielle Batist May 13, 2019 The number of prisoners in The Netherlands has halved...
Read MoreThe best interests of the child: Criminal sentencing in Canada
This post is about 600 words and can be read in 3 minutes. “Children of incarcerated parents, including parents detained in relation to immigration, are a vulnerable population that experience complex long-term psychological, social and economic disadvantages.” So begins a...
Read MorePrison conditions should matter as much as length of sentence
This post is about 750 words and can be read in about 3 minutes. When Canadian courts sentence someone to prison, the main question is the length of the sentence. That focus only on time to be served does not...
Read MoreDo prosecutors have too much discretion?
This post is about 750 words and can be read in 3 minutes. More than 90% of criminal charges in Canada never go to trial. They are either dropped by the Crown or the accused pleads guilty to something. This...
Read MoreMedia portrayals of crime create problems
This post is 900 words and can be read in about 4 minutes Emotional public reactions to crime have always played an important role in shaping criminal justice. This post draws from ten recent studies (listed and linked at the...
Read MoreIntermittent Sentences Cause Big Problems in Quebec Jails
This post is about 800 words and can be read in 3-4 minutes. One result of the abolition by the previous federal government of conditional sentences (house arrest) for many crimes has been a significant increase in what are called...
Read MoreGlobe and Mail coverage of prison reform
This post is about 1150 words and can be read in 5-6 minutes. On Nov 6, the Globe and Mail newspaper ran an editorial called “Fixing solitary isn’t enough. Canada’s prisons need to be reformed top to bottom”. The editorial...
Read MoreBenefits of Restorative Justice
This post is about 900 words and can be read in 4-5 minutes. Restorative justice (RJ) is one of those approaches often advocated yet not often used. Despite its seeming advantages and the efforts of some advocates such as Margot...
Read MoreCanadians don’t like mandatory minimum sentences
This post is about 700 words and takes 3-4 minutes to read. The Liberal government elected in 2015 had as one of its election commitments ending mandatory minimum (MM) sentences for various crimes. Although the first mandatory minimums were put...
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