Do 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...
Read MoreChildren with jailed parents are also victims of crime
This post is about 820 words and takes about 4 minutes to read. Children with parents in jail are also victims of crime, whose needs and interests have so far received very little attention from the justice system. One of...
Read MoreReforming criminal sentencing
In 2016, as part of a general review of criminal justice for the new federal government, the Department of Justice commissioned a set of papers on possible reforms to criminal sentencing in Canada. Five papers were published on the Department’s...
Read MoreRace, Crime and Justice in Canada
We have a lot of data showing that Indigenous and Black people are the subjects of unfair treatment throughout the criminal justice system, from contact with police to sentencing and parole. That evidence is well summarized in a recent (2014)...
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