When Larry Motiuk joined the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) in 1988, he became the Service’s first Research Officer and launched a career that has demonstrated the benefits of applied research in corrections.

“Ever since I arrived, I’ve been defending evidence-based correctional policies, programs and practices,” says Motiuk, former Director General of the Research Branch and current Director General of Offender Programs and Reintegration. “What the evidence has been telling us is that you get better public safety results through the delivery of effective correctional programs,” Motiuk says as he reflects on nearly 20 years helping to build CSC’s Research Branch.

When Motiuk joined CSC, one of the Service’s corporate objectives was establishing the capacity to conduct applied research in corrections. Previously, the then-Ministry of the Solicitor General conducted research for the Service.

Under the initial direction of Frank Proporino, CSC’s Research Branch quickly established itself as a world leader in corrections research while collaborating with a wide-range of European, Asian, and African countries. By 1989, the branch was producing Forum on Corrections Research, a quarterly publication that showcased CSC research, reviewed management studies, and applied international research related to corrections.

As part of its move to establish an in-house Research Branch, CSC invested heavily in employees and state-of-the-art computer technology and software. The pay-off was CSC’s newfound ability to gather and analyze its own data on effective corrections. “We were no longer dependent on external service providers,” recollects Motiuk. “We had the ability to examine operational data and conduct analyses ourselves.”

CSC research capacity has proven instrumental in areas ranging from forecasting the growth and needs of the offender population, and developing offender assessment technology, to measuring correctional performance. Important CSC initiatives such as the Custody Rating Scale, the Offender Intake Assessment process, Aboriginal and women-specific programs, access to the Internet and standards for community supervision, all started out as Research Branch initiatives.

Many of those initiatives are a part of Motiuk’s professional history. “To build a systematic risk-needs assessment approach to the supervision of offenders under community supervision – that was my first assignment,” Motiuk recalls of his first days at CSC. “The other project at the time was to conduct the first and only epidemiological survey of mental health in the Canadian penitentiary system. It was a massive undertaking and it hasn’t been done since,” he explains. “The survey allowed CSC to demonstrate the incidence and prevalence of mental health problems within the system. It’s been referred to ever since, to establish CSC’s funding needs.”

Today, the Research Branch has grown to more than 40 full-time staff members, and its work has helped shape and modernize almost every aspect of CSC operations – from intake, to program delivery, to supervision in the community.

“CSC’s Research Branch was involved in many important initiatives, including the development of the Offender Intake Assessment process,” echoes Brian Grant, the current Director General of the Research Branch. “This project put CSC ahead of all other correctional jurisdictions in the area of assessment. Our automated assessment procedures are still the envy of most correctional jurisdictions.”

In 1999, CSC’s Research Branch started a new chapter in its history with the establishment of the Addictions Research Centre in Prince Edward Island. The centre’s creation resulted in a significant increase in the number of CSC research initiatives involving addictions. Grant worked at the centre and believes it’s an initiative CSC should be very proud of.

The solid foundations created by the Research Branch during the past 20 years will allow CSC to improve upon its history of effective corrections as part of the Transformation Agenda.

“It’s clear that we can contribute to public safety through the delivery of these programs,” Motiuk adds. “The evidence is pretty solid on this and it’s been replicated time and again, however, we still have more to learn. We must adjust and adapt to the unique needs that our offenders will present over time and make adjustments accordingly.

It’s a challenge Grant looks forward to. “The next five years will see much in the way of innovation in corrections,” he says. “We will be doing a great deal in the near future to further improve how CSC operates and to show the world how corrections can be done to produce the most effective results.”