Commissioner's Directive

Preliminary Assessments and Post-Sentence Community Assessments

Commissioner's Directive

  • Number: 705-1
  • In Effect: 2013-04-30

Related Links

AUTHORITIES

PURPOSE

  • To ensure that complete and accurate information is gathered and analyzed during the Preliminary Assessment and the Post-Sentence Community Assessment

APPLICATION

Applies to staff responsible for gathering and analyzing offender information and contact information

RESPONSIBILITIES AND PROCEDURES

  1. The Parole Officer Supervisor will ensure:
    1. the Preliminary Assessment, the Custody Rating Scale (decentralized intake and women offenders) and the Post-Sentence Community Assessment are completed, or
    2. the Manager, Assessment and Interventions/Manager, Intensive Intervention Strategy, is notified in the event the Preliminary Assessment is not completed and/or the Post-Sentence Community Assessment is not requested. Actions taken to ensure reports are completed will be documented
  2. The community Parole Officer will:
    1. interview the offender and complete the Preliminary Assessment, outlined in Annex B, within five working days of the offender receiving a federal sentence. Any exceptional circumstances (e.g. sentencing in a remote location) which delay these activities will be documented
    2. inform the offender about the federal correctional system and provide responses to any questions
    3. gather information regarding the offender's next of kin and emergency contacts
    4. identify and document any immediate needs, alerts, flags, critical concerns, and mental health needs
    5. complete the Custody Rating Scale, for women offenders and for all offenders in regions with decentralized intake units, before the offender is transferred to a federal institution, pursuant to CD 705-6 - Correctional Planning and Criminal Profile
    6. request the Post-Sentence Community Assessment(s) from the designated parole office(s)
    7. collect information from other components of the criminal justice system
    8. complete the Post-Sentence Community Assessment within 40 days, if a contact has been identified, from the date of admission to federal custody as outlined in Annex C
  3. The Manager, Assessment and Interventions/Manager, Intensive Intervention Strategy, will ensure the Preliminary Assessment, the Custody Rating Scale (decentralized intake and women offenders) and the Post-Sentence Community Assessment are requested for offenders directly placed in a federal institution upon sentencing (excluding international transfers as a Community Assessment is completed for transfers), within five days of the offender's admission.
  4. Where the offender is directly placed in a federal institution upon sentencing (excluding international transfers as a Community Assessment is completed for transfers), within five days of the offender's admission, the institutional Parole Officer, Intake Assessment Unit, will complete the Preliminary Assessment, and request the Post-Sentence Community Assessment.

ENQUIRIES

  1. Strategic Policy Division
    National Headquarters
    Email: Gen-NHQPolicy-Politi@csc-scc.gc.ca

Commissioner,

Original signed by:
Don Head

ANNEX A
CROSS-REFERENCES

CD 559 - Visits
CD 700 - Correctional Interventions
CD 701 - Information Sharing
CD 702 - Aboriginal Offenders
CD 704 - International Transfers
CD 705 - Intake Assessment Process and Correctional Plan Framework
CD 705-6 - Correctional Planning and Criminal Profile
CD 710-2 - Transfer of Inmates
CD 710-3 - Temporary Absences
CD 710-7 - Work Releases
CD 715 - Community Supervision Framework
CD 715-1 - Community Supervision
CD 715-2 - Post-Release Decision Process
CD 715-3 - Community Assessments
CD 784 - Information Sharing Between Victims and the Correctional Service of Canada
CD 803 - Consent to Health Services Assessment, Treatment and Release of Information

Access to Information Act
Privacy Act

ANNEX B

PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT - REPORT OUTLINE

CHECKLIST FOR THE INTERVIEW

Note: The information gathered for the Preliminary Assessment is mainly offender self-reported and is subject to confirmation.

1.

Name of offender

Alias(es)

2.

Date of birth

Place of birth

3.

FPS number

Gender

___ Male ___ Female

4.

Offender location

5.

Electoral information

6.

Marital status

___ Married ___ Common law ___ Separated

___ Single ___ Divorced ___ Widowed

___ Unknown

7.

___ Need for translator

Preferred official language

___ English ___ French

Home language

Other spoken languages

8.

Citizenship

___ Canadian ___ Dual citizenship

___ Non-Canadian ___ Other country

___ Unknown

9.

Race

Status

Band no.

10.

Religion

11.

Contact in case of emergency

12.

Current offence(s)

Type of offence(s)

Length of sentence

Date of sentencing

Police force

13.

Waiver signed YES ___ NO ___

14.

Smoker ___ Non-Smoker ___

15.

The offender version of the offence(s) becomes a permanent part of the Criminal Profile Report.

Offender version of offence(s) [description, violence, weapon used, factors leading up to the decision to commit, and motive for, the offence(s), part played by the offender in the offence(s), name, role and status of accomplices, offender's attitude towards the offence(s), level of remorse and intent to appeal, etc.]

IMMEDIATE NEEDS

Security

As much as possible a value (yes-no-unknown) must be entered for each indicator

___

May be affiliated with organized crime/gang

___

Concerns exist regarding incompatibles

___

Current offence(s) involve(s) explosives

___

Has a history of arson/fire setting

___

Case has attracted extensive media attention

___

May be subject to deportation

___

Has outstanding charges

___

May be security literate

___

Current offence(s) involve(s) use of computer technology

___

Protected or confidential information exists

___

Previous institutional adjustment concerns exist

___

May be gas reactant or unaffected by gas

___

Physical disability may preclude the use of certain types of force

 

Comments (for any checked indicator, explain)

Suicide Risk

The Immediate Needs Checklist - Suicide Risk (CSC/SCC 1433) must be completed

 

ASSESSMENT OF RELEASE POTENTIAL

 

Potential release plans (cases serving three years or less)

 

Release plans

Comments

 

Unescorted temporary absence

 
 

Support systems

 
 

Plans for a transfer or release under sections 81 or 84 of
the CCRA

 
 

Day parole

 
 

Support systems

 
 

Full parole

 
 

Accommodation

 
 

Employment plans

 
 

INITIAL ASSESSMENT OF PROPOSED RELEASE PLANS

 
 

CONTACTS FOR POST-SENTENCE COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT (for all cases)

 

Name

 
 

Relationship

 
 

Contact type

 
 

Address

 
 

Telephone

 
 

Name

 
 

Relationship

 
 

Contact type

 
 

Address

 
 

Telephone

 
 

Name

 
 

Relationship

 
 

Contact type

 
 

Address

 
 

Telephone

 
 

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

 
Relevant background information, such as (if applicable)
 
  • Previous criminal behaviour and breach of trust history
  • Prior institutional behaviour
  • Deportation
  • Family background, education, employment history, etc.
  • Parental responsibilities, interest in participating in the Mother-Child Program
  • Court-ordered obligations (e.g. restitution, child support)
 

PAROLE OFFICER'S ASSESSMENT OF THE FOLLOWING FACTORS

 
  • Offender's accountability, motivation, responsivity and engagement (CD 715-1 - Community Supervision, Annex C - Rating Reassessment)
  • Adaptation issues to incarceration and/or to serve sentence
 

OFFICIAL IDENTIFICATION

 

Does the offender have copies of the following?

 

Birth certificate

YES/NO - Location *

 

Citizenship/permanent residency card

YES/NO - Location*

 

Provincial health card

YES/NO - Location* Expiry date

 

Social insurance number or card

YES/NO - Location*

 

Driver's license

YES/NO - Location*

 

Does the offender need to request new copies of the above?          YES/NO

* If applicable, add the name of community support

ANNEX C
POST-SENTENCE COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT - REPORT OUTLINE

If the offender is a federal recidivist, with the same community contacts, update only relevant information that is not found on the file. In cases where the offender is a federal recidivist and the offender does not provide a contact, previous contacts can be used.

   
  1. Notification to third party
  • Contacts will be advised that information provided will be shared with the offender
  • Should the identity of the contact require protection, the information will be documented in a Protected Information Report
  • The contact will be informed that a summary or "gist" of any information disclosed will be provided to the offender if this information is to be used in the decision making process
  1. Source(s) of information
  • For each contact, provide a synopsis which includes their name, date of birth, occupation, relationship to the offender, date of interview, description of the environment where the interview took place (if relevant) and other relevant observations about this person
  • Indicate the contact's criminal history or Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) results, if applicable
  1. Offender's relationship with the contact or significant others
  • Based on information provided by the contact, provide an assessment of
  • the nature of the relationship between the offender and contact, and
  • his/her ability to provide support to the offender during the sentence and upon release to the community
  1. Criminal history
  • Contact's comments on
  • the offender's criminal behaviour (the age at which problems with the law started, type and frequency of offences, history of placement in juvenile or adult institutions)
  • the offender's performance on bail
  • original charges versus final outcome, and fairness of the sentence, and
  • the offender's accountability, motivation, responsivity and engagement
  • Parole Officer's assessment of
  • the contact's attitude toward the offender's criminal behaviour and ability to successfully reintegrate, the nature and gravity of the offence and the degree of responsibility of the offender
  1. Contributing factors
  • Contact's comments on
  • what contributed to the offender's criminal activity
  • awareness or use of social or community services by the contact and the offender, and
  • the offender's motivation to engage in his/her Correctional Plan
  • Parole Officer's assessment of
  • all dynamic factors associated with the offender's criminality
  • the factors that represent the offender's strengths likely to contribute to his/her reintegration, and
  • availability of community resources that could address the offender's needs upon release (if applicable)
  1. Aboriginal offender social history and sections 81 and 84
    (see CD 702)

When the Post-Sentence Community Assessment is being conducted for an Aboriginal offender, the community Parole Officer will include, where applicable, Aboriginal community leaders or representatives.

He/she will also take that opportunity to provide information on sections 81 and 84 of the CCRA, and encourage the development of custody or release planning for that offender at the earliest time.
  1. Temporary absences and private family visits (as applicable)
  • Contact's comments on
  • family eligibility and interest in participating in private family visits
  • interest in receiving the offender on temporary absences and the ability and willingness to provide suitable accommodation
  • concerns with respect to family violence (current or past relationships), and
  • the offender's past and present marital status and parenting responsibilities
  • Parole Officer's assessment of
  • the value the contact and offender place on family
  • the family dynamics, and
  • the relevance of unescorted temporary absences and private family visits, including reporting and supervision requirements, type and frequency of contacts
  1. Police or other official information

Provide an overview of information obtained from criminal justice partners (e.g. social services, probation, police, community residential facilities, etc.), if applicable
  1. Overall assessment
  • Parole Officer's assessment of
  • level and quality of the community support available to the offender
  • proposed interventions, treatments and/or programs available to assist in the safe reintegration of the offender
  • victim concerns
  • the nature and gravity of the offence, and
  • the degree of responsibility of the offender