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I INTRODUCTION Suspended sentences of various forms have been an element of western sentencing for decades, (1) and almost all common law jurisdictions operate some form of suspended sanction. Yet [...]

In recent years, international crime trends have been relatively stable or declining. A recent report from the United Nations noted that At the global level, violent crimes for which police-recorded [...]

I INTRODUCTION To date, scholarship on sentencing guidelines has understandably focused on the experiences across the United States, where guidelines have been evolving since the 1970s. Unlike other American innovations, [...]

Section 745.6 of the Criminal Code--colloquially known as the "faint hope" clause--permits most offenders sentenced to life imprisonment for murder or high treason, and who have to serve at least [...]

The context for Canadian youth justice reform The Young Offenders Act (YOA), which came into force in 1984, was a highly controversial statute. While conservative politicians criticized the law for [...], The Youth Criminal Justice Act (2003) was enacted with the intent of decreasing the use of courts and restricting the use of custody for adolescent offenders, while improving the effectiveness of the responses to serious violent youth offenders. This paper assesses the impact of the act in its first five years. It reviews salient provisions of the act dealing with sentencing and diversion, discusses Supreme Court of Canada jurisprudence interpreting the act, and presents statistical data on the impact of the YCJA on diversion and sentencing of youth and on youth court and custodial caseloads. The Supreme Court has narrowly interpreted the provisions of the YCJA that allow for the use of custody, contributing to a reduction in use of custody. The Court has also emphasized that youth are to be treated differently from adults and ruled unconstitutional provisions of the YCJA that created a presumption of adult sentencing for the most serious offences by young offenders, limiting the effect of provisions of the act directed at serious violent offenders. The YCJA has succeeded in significantly reducing the rates of use of court and custody, without increasing recorded youth crime. There continue to be significant regional variations in rates of use of youth courts and custody. Although regional differences in the use of court have declined under the YCJA, variation in the use of custody has not been significantly affected by the new act. Youth crime remains a contentious political concern in Canada. Keywords: Youth Criminal Justice Act, diversion, custodial populations, youth justice, law reform La Loi sur le systeme de justice penale pour les adolescents (2003) a ete promulguee dans le but de diminuer le recours aux tribunaux et a la detention pour les jeunes contrevenants, et a ameliorer l'efficacite des mesures prises dans les cas de violence criminelle grave commise par des jeunes. Dans l'article, on evalue l'impact qu'a eu la Loi au cours des cinq annees suivant son adoption. On y passe en revue les principales dispositions de la Loi touchant la determination de la peine et les mesures extrajudiciaires. On y parle aussi de la jurisprudence de la Cour supreme du Canada quant a l'interpretation de la Loi et on presente des donnees statistiques sur l'impact qu'a eu la Loi sur les mesures extrajudiciaires et la determination de la peine chez les adolescents, ainsi que sur le nombre de cas juges devant les tribunaux et en detention. La Cour supreme a interprete de maniere restrictive les dispositions de la Loi permettant de recourir a la detention, ce qui a contribue a faire diminuer le taux de detention. La Cour a aussi insiste sur le fait qu'il faut traiter les jeunes differemment des adultes. De plus, elle a juge inconstitutionnelles les dispositions de la Loi creant une presomption de peine applicable aux adultes pour les jeunes contrevenants les plus violents, limitant ainsi les effets de certains articles de la Loi visant les crimes graves avec violence. Grace a la Loi, le taux de recours aux tribunaux et a la detention ont considerablement diminue, sans que la criminalite enregistree chez les jeunes augmente pour autant. Il existe encore des variations importantes d'une region a l'autre du recours aux tribunaux de la jeunesse et de detention chez les jeunes. Meme s'il y a moins de differences regionales lides au recours aux tribunaux depuis l'adoption de la Loi, il n'y a pas vraiment eu de changement quant a la detention apres son entree en vigueur. La criminalite chez les jeunes demeure un sujet de preoccupation politique litigieux au Canada. Mots cles: Loi sur le systeme de justice penale pour les adolescents, mesures extrajudiciaires, population en detention, justice pour les adolescents, reforme de la loi

How much trust do Canadians have in their criminal justice system? In other countries, concern has been expressed over an alleged "crisis in public confidence" regarding criminal justice (see Hough [...], Public confidence in criminal justice has emerged as an important issue in most western nations. Several jurisdictions have made promoting public confidence a policy priority, and governments in many countries have recently conducted public opinion surveys to gauge levels of confidence in criminal justice. However, little is known about levels of public confidence in criminal justice in Canada. This article reviews the empirical research on this issue and attempts to explain current trends. Although a significant plurality of the public expresses little confidence in the justice system, more people are positive than are negative. In comparison to other countries, confidence levels in criminal justice are generally higher in Canada. This said, the public has less confidence in the justice system than in other public institutions such as the health care system. Consistent with findings elsewhere, the police attract most, and the prison system the least amount of public confidence. The article places these findings in context, and discusses their implications for research and policy. Keywords: public confidence, public opinion Dans la plupart des pays occidentaux, le niveau de confiance que le grand public manifeste envers le regime de justice penale est devenu une question importante. Ainsi, en etablissant leurs orientations politiques, plusieurs instances ont privilegie la promotion de cette confiance, et au cours des dernieres annees les gouvernements de maints pays ont mene des enquetes d'opinion publique destinees a jauger le niveau de confiance du grand public envers la justice penale. Cependant, nos connaissances concernant les taux de confiance envers la justice penale au Canada sont limitees. Dans le present article, l'auteur passe en revue les recherches empiriques en la matiere et presente une explication des tendances actuelles. Ainsi, alors qu'un nombre significatif de Canadiens expriment peu de confiance envers le systeme de justice penale, l'opinion de la plupart des repondants est plutot favorable. En general, les niveaux de confiance envers le systeme de justice penale sont plus eleves au Canada qu'ailleurs. Ceci dit, le grand public manifeste moins de confiance envers le systeme de justice qu'envers d'autres composantes du secteur public telles que le systeme des soins de sante. Ce sont les services policiers qui jouissent du plus haut niveau de confiance, alors que le systeme carceral obtient la cote la plus faible. Enfin, l'auteur contextualise ces constats et discute de leurs impacts eventuels sur les recherches ulterieures et les politiques gouvernementales. Mots clefs: confiance du grand public, opinion du grand public

Introduction Public attitudes toward sentencing in Canada have been the subject of systematic research for well over a generation now--beginning with the Legal Research Institute Survey conducted in 1978 (reported [...], This article reports findings from two representative public-opinion surveys that explored Canadians' attitudes toward three important sentencing issues: the severity of sentencing; the purposes of sentencing; and mandatory sentences of imprisonment. As has been found by polls over the past 30 years, most Canadians believe that sentencing practices are too lenient. The same result emerged from a poll conducted in 2005: 74% of respondents held the view that sentencing is too lenient--a finding consistent with polls conducted throughout the 1980s. With respect to the purposes of sentencing, strongest public support emerged for the restorative sentencing objectives of promoting a sense of responsibility in the offender and securing reparation for the crime victim. There was less support for the more traditional purposes of deterrence and incapacitation. This finding represents a marked contrast to findings from the last survey that evaluated public reaction to sentencing purposes (in 1985). Slightly more than half the sample in 2005 expressed support for mandatory sentencing--a result consistent with opinion surveys from the United States and Australia. However, there was strong public support for mandatory sentencing legislation that also permits a limited degree of judicial discretion. The public appear aware of the dangers of an absolute mandatory sentence of imprisonment and support mandatory sentences in which courts may impose a lesser sentence where exceptional circumstances exist. The implications of these findings for sentencing policy in Canada are discussed. Cet article presente les resultats de deux enquetes d'opinion publique representatives qui portaient sur les attitudes des Canadiennes et des Canadiens envers trois questions reliees a la determination de la peine: la severite de la peine, les buts de la determination de la peine, et la peine d'emprisonnement obligatoire. Or, les tendances constatees dans tous les sondages menes au cours des trente dernieres annees se maintiennent dans ces deux enquetes, effectuees en 2005: la plupart (74 %) des Canadiennes et des Canadiens estiment que les pratiques de determination de la peine ne sont pas assez severes. Pour ce qui est des buts de la determination de la peine, ce sont les objectifs a caractere reparateur qui recoltent la plus grande faveur. Ces objectifs consistent a favoriser le developpement d'un sens de la responsabilite chez le contrevenant et de s'assurer que la victime du crime beneficie des pratiques de justice reparatrice. Les repondants appuyaient dans une moindre proportion les buts plus traditionnels de la dissuasion et de la neutralisation. Il convient de souligner que ce resultat represente un changement de cap par rapport aux resultats de l'enquete precedente (de 1985) qui evaluait les reactions du public sur les buts de la determination de la peine. Un plus de 50% des repondants, en 2005, se disent en faveur des peines obligatoires; ce chiffre correspond au resultat d'enquetes menees aux Etats-Unis et en Australie. Par ailleurs, en ce qui a trait a la peine obligatoire, les repondants appuient fortement les dispositions legislatives permettant au juge d'exercer un certain pouvoir discretionnaire. Le public canadien semble donc avoir pris conscience des risques d'une peine d'incarceration obligatoire absolue, et il semble etre en faveur de dispositions qui permettraient au juge d'imposer une peine moins severe dans des circonstances exceptionnelles. Les auteurs discutent de l'incidence eventuelle de ces resultats sur les politiques canadiennes en matiere de determination de la peine.

The proclamation into force of the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) in 2003 inaugurated a new era in the sentencing of juveniles in Canada. The act represents a significant break [...], This brief article reviews the principal sentencing provisions of the new Youth Criminal Justice Act, and explores their relationship to sentencing at the adult court level. As well, a number of normative issues raised by the YCJA are addressed. It is clear that a central goal of the act is to harmonize sentencing at the adult and youth court levels. However, several important differences remain, including the following: (1) the statement of purpose of sentencing in youth justice courts lays more emphasis on rehabilitation; (2) although the utilitarian sentencing objectives of deterrence, denunciation, and incapacitation are relevant to the sentencing of adults, they are not stated objectives)or sentencing juveniles; (3) while important, proportionality plays a lesser role in the sentencing of juvenile offenders, although the influence of the principle will increase with the age of the young person; (4) courts should resort to the incarceration of the offender less often when sentencing juvenile offenders; (5) when considering the principle of parity in sentencing, the frame of reference for youth courts should be the region in which the individual is being sentenced; there is no such statutory direction at the adult level. Dans ce court article, l'auteur passe en revue les principales dispositions de la nouvelle Loi sur le systeme de justice penale pour les adolescents en ce qui a trait a la determination de la peine, en les comparant aux dispositions analogues applicables aux contrevenants adultes. Il examine egalement un certain nombre de questions a caractere normatif que souleve la nouvelle loi. Or, il est evident que cette loi a pour but d'assurer l'harmonisation des decisions concernant la determination de la peine aux tribunaux pour adolescents et pour adultes. Cependant, plusieurs differences notables subsistent, dont les suivantes: (1) la declaration du but de la determination de la peine aux tribunaux de la jeunesse met davantage l'accent sur la rehabilitation; (2) les objectives utilitaires de la determination de la peine, soit la dissuasion, la denonciation et la neutralisation, meme s'ils s'appliquent a la determination de la peine a infliger aux adultes, ne sont pas enonces explicitement dans la nouvelle loi portant sur les adolescents; (3) le principe de la responsabilite proportionnelle, tout en etant important, joue un role moindre dans la determination de la peine a imposer aux jeunes contrevenants, mais l'influence de cette responsabilitd s'accroit avec l'age de l'adolescent; (4) les tribunaux devraient imposer l'incarceration moins souvent dans le cas des jeunes contrevenants; (5) en ce qui concerne le principe de la parite en matiere de determination de la peine, le cadre de reference des tribunaux pour adolescents doit etre la region ou on prononce la sentence, alors qu'aucune directive statutaire de la sorte ne s'applique aux contrevenants adultes.

Sweeping changes have recently been made to punishment practices in many western nations. A number of these have reflected punitive, penal populism. The purpose of this essay is to examine [...]

All Western nations have passed mandatory sentencing legislation that removes or greatly curtails judicial discretion. These mandatory sentencing laws have proliferated in recent years with predictable consequences for prison populations. A response to public demand for more severe sentencing is one of the justifications for mandatory sentences of imprisonment. In addition, politicians use mandatory sentencing legislation to enhance their standing in the eyes of the public. Politicians appear to assume that the public is strongly supportive of these laws, though scientifically valid surveys are never cited to support these assumptions. This article reviews the international findings from surveys that reveal that the public is deeply divided about mandatory sentencing. Part of the reason for this is that there is more support for proportional sentencing than for utilitarian goals, such as deterrence or incapacitation. In addition, survey data suggest that the electoral advantage of promoting these laws has been considerably overstated. Keywords: public opinion; mandatory sentencing

This article explores three sanctions contained in the 2002 Criminal Justice Bill which follows upon the 2002 white paper Justice for All. The Bill creates a Sentencing Guidelines Council to develop sentencing guidelines, and defines three dispositions applicable to sentences of imprisonment under twelve months: 'Custody Plus', the suspended sentence of imprisonment, and the intermittent sentence of imprisonment. These reforms constitute a significant step for the sentencing process in England and Wales, and are in part a response to the 2001 Halliday Report. The changes (among others) may well have an important impact on the prison population in England and Wales, which in October 2002 reached a record level. Since the suspended sentence of imprisonment bears close resemblance to the conditional sentence of imprisonment introduced in Canada in 1996, the article makes comparisons between the two sanctions.

From time to time this journal examines in greater detail issues of particular importance to criminology and criminal justice in Canada. One such issue is clearly the implications of a [...]

Visible minorities generally account for disproportionate numbers of admissions to custody in all Western nations, including Canada (see Tonry 1997; Roberts and Doob 1997). Aboriginal peoples in particular are over-represented [...], Depuis longtemps, les commissions d'enquete, tous les paliers de gouvernement et les documents de recherche et statistiques portant sur les corrections au Canada signalent les taux eleves de detention des Autochtones. Au cours de 2000-2001, derniere annee pour laquelle des donnees sont disponibles, les contrevenants autochtones representaient 19% des admissions en detention provinciale et 17% des admissions en detention federale. Les auteurs du present article examinent les admissions des contrevenants autochtones et non autochtones condamnes a l'incarceration depuis 1978, annee ou des statistiques nationales indiquant l'origine ethnique des contrevenants avaient ete publiees pour la premiere fois. Dans le cadre de cette analyse, on porte une attention particuliere aux tendances qui se sont dessinees dernierement, alors que le Parlement et la Cour supreme ont essaye d'apporter des solutions au probleme. Plus precisement, celui-la a voulu enchasser dans la loi la specificite des contrevenants autochtones; celle-ci a rendu des jugements fondes sur l'interpretation des dispositions en matiere de determination de la peine du Code criminel adoptees en 1996. Or, les resultats de l'etude demontrent que les efforts consentis depuis une vingtaine d'annees en vue de reduire le nombre d'Autochtones admis en detention n'ont pas obtenu les resultats escomptes. Bien que le nombre d'admissions en detention des Autochtones ait diminue depuis 1993-1994, les admissions des non Autochtones ont diminue plus rapidement, ce qui laisse entendre que ce ne sont pas les changements specifiques de politique qui sont responsables de la baisse des taux autochtones. The high rates of Aboriginal admissions to custody have been noted by Commissions of Inquiry, all levels of government, and Corrections texts in Canada for some time. In the most recent year for which data are available (2000-2001), Aboriginal offenders accounted for 19% of provincial admissions and 17% of federal admissions to custody. This article examines provincial custodial sentenced admissions for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal offenders since 1978, when national statistics including the ethnicity of the offender were first published. Particular emphasis is paid in this analysis to recent trends during a period in which Parliament and the Supreme Court have tried to address the problem, the former by statutory recognition of the unique nature of Aboriginal offenders, the latter by judgments interpreting Criminal Code sentencing provisions introduced in 1996. The findings suggest that little progress has been made in reducing the number of Aboriginal sentenced admissions over the past few decades. Although the volume of Aboriginal admissions to custody has declined since 1993-1994, non-Aboriginal admissions have declined at an even faster rate, suggesting that specific policy changes are not responsible for the Aboriginal decline.

The Marine Corps is charged with the task of maintaining amphibious assault capabilities, and it has had an amphibian vehicle since 1941.The present assault amphibious vehicle, is well past its expected service life, and the new advanced amphibious assault vehicle (AAAV) is needed. A detailed description of the AAAV is provided.

The author discusses the Canadian Supreme Court's decision in R. v. Proulx, in which the court attempted to address the issues of what constitutes conditional sentences, how such sentences should be constructed, and how judges should respond to unjustified breaches of the ordered sentences.

A. Manson, The Law of Sentencing. Toronto: Irwin Law, 2001. Pp. 412. [Softcover $39.95 (Cdn.)]. A. Manson, P. Healy & G. Trotter, Sentencing and Penal Policy in Canada: Cases, Materials, [...]

by Lisa Marie Jakubowski. Halifax, N.S.: Fernwood Publishing. 1997. Immigration has become an important social issue, and one which raises a number of criminal justice questions. Perhaps the most vexed [...]

One of the most basic failings of the current sentencing system in Canada is that there is no method for anyone (not a judge, accused, lawyer, member of the public [...], Sentencing statistics are not routinely published in Canada. In this article, we summarize the principal findings from a data-base recently created by Statistics Canada. The sentences derive from provincial courts in nine jurisdictions across Canada over the period 1993-1994. These are, accordingly, the most systematic sentencing data collected in decades. The sentencing data-base contains information on 551,682 individuals and over one million sentences. The findings reported here are restricted to single charge cases, in which one charge is associated with a case. A fine was the most frequently imposed sanction;fines were imposed in over half the cases. A term of imprisonment was imposed in one-quarter of the cases. Sentences of imprisonment were frequently accompanied by a period of probation to be served at the conclusion of the term of custody. Sentencing patterns at the trial court level bore little relationship to the maximum penalty structure, thereby underlining the importance of a comprehensive revision of the maximum penalties currently found in the Criminal Code.