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Community Corrections and Conditional Release

Most federal offenders serve part of their sentence in prison and the last part in the community. Community corrections provides offenders with gradual supervised release into the community. This is called a conditional release, where the offender is released to the community with certain conditions.

A conditional release occurs after a thorough assessment of the offender is completed. Offenders who appear unlikely to commit new crimes or break certain rules may go on conditional release. They must abide by certain standard and special conditions on release. CSC staff carefully supervise these offenders and they may be sent back to an institution if they do not follow the imposed conditions.

Community corrections helps offenders adjust to life beyond the prison environment. Research shows that offenders are more likely to become law-abiding citizens if they participate in a program of gradual, supervised release.

Conditional release can take a variety of forms such as:

• Temporary Absences : Temporary absences can be escorted or unescorted. They are granted for the following reasons:
  • Medical
  • Administrative
  • Community services
  • Family contacts
  • Personal development for rehabilitative purposes
  • Compassionate reasons (such as to attend a funeral)
• Escorted Temporary Absence (ETA) : A short-term, supervised release to the community. Offenders are eligible for ETAs immediately upon entry to a federal penitentiary, but usually only take place for medical or administrative reasons.
• Unescorted Temporary Absences (UTA) : A short-term release to the community. Most inmates in the penitentiary system are eligible for UTAs at one-sixth of the sentence or six months into the sentence, whichever is greater. A UTA can be for an unlimited period for medical reasons and for a maximum of 60 days for specific personal development programs. Typically, UTAs last two or three days, depending on the security level of the offender. UTAs occur for many reasons, such as to allow the offender to visit his or her family or to participate in a community program geared at rehabilitation. Maximum security offenders are not eligible for UTAs.  The Parole Board of Canada, the Commissioner of CSC and Institutional Heads (i.e., wardens) have authority to grant UTAs in specified circumstances. Public safety is always of paramount importance in these decisions.
• Day Parole : Offenders participate in community based activities while serving their sentence (e.g. employment, volunteer work, studies). This prepares offenders for release on full parole or statutory release. While on day parole, offenders must return to their Community-Based Residential Facility at the end of each day. Offenders must meet regularly with a Parole Officer and are generally eligible for day parole at six months before their full parole eligibility date.
• Full Parole : Offenders serve a portion of their remaining sentence under supervision in the community. While on full parole, an offender is normally allowed to live on his/her own but must report to a Parole Officer on a regular basis. During these meetings, an offender informs the Parole Officer if anything changes with the offender’s release plan or life situation. Generally, offenders are eligible for full parole at ½ of their sentence length or 7 years, whichever is less.
• Work Releases : Work release allows an inmate to work for a specified time in the community on a paid or voluntary basis while under supervision. Generally, inmates are eligible for work release when they have served one-sixth of their sentence or six months, whichever is greater. The Institutional Head has authority to grant a work release of up to a maximum period of 60 days under specified conditions that always include supervision. Correctional authorities grant work releases to carefully selected inmates who perform work and services of benefit to the community such as painting, general repairs and maintenance of community centres or homes for the elderly. Work release is one of the first steps in the safe, gradual reintegration of offenders into society. Offenders in maximum-security institutions are not eligible for work release.
• Statutory Release : Is a non-discretionary form of release mandated in legislation that requires offenders to serve the final third of their sentence in the community; offenders are under the supervision of Parole Officers and under conditions of release similar to those imposed on offenders released on full parole. The Parole Board of Canada (PBC) may add special conditions on top of the standard conditions on release in order to protect society and to assist the offender in beginning a new life. In certain cases, the PBC can also impose a residency condition to a community-based residential facility. Offenders on statutory release are inmates who either did not apply for release on parole, or who were denied release on full parole. Statutory release can be denied by the PBC if a detention hearing determines that the offender will likely commit an offence causing serious harm or death, a sexual offence involving a child or a serious drug offence. Not all inmates are entitled to statutory release. For example, those serving a life sentence and dangerous offenders are excluded from this type of conditional release.
• Long-Term Supervision Orders (LTSO) : An offender designated by the courts as a long-term offender at a special sentencing hearing is sentenced in addition to the prison term to an additional period of community supervision up to a maximum of ten years in accordance with the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA). For example, a court can impose a long-term supervision order on offenders convicted of specific sexual offences where, in the court’s judgement, the risk presented by the offender can be managed in the community through appropriate supervision.  The LTSO commences when the offender has finished serving the total sentence for the offence(s) for which he/she had been convicted. >Every long term offender who is in the community is subject to standard conditions imposed by the Parole Board of Canada. However, the PBC can add special conditions to ensure close supervision of the offender, such as mandatory participation in counselling. Parole Officers provide the community supervision.

Legislative Authority for Conditional Release

All of these releases are granted under the authority of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA). In the federal system, the responsibility for conditional release is shared between the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) and CSC.

Under the CCRA, the PBC has exclusive jurisdiction and discretion to grant, deny, terminate or revoke parole for inmates in federal custody. The PBC may impose various special conditions on the different forms of conditional release that restrict the offender’s activities, such as abstaining from alcohol, non-association with certain individuals or requirements for psychological counselling. CSC is responsible for the management and supervision of offenders in the community. 

Role of Community Corrections

When offenders serve the community portion of a sentence or are on conditional release, they become part of community corrections. Community corrections contributes to the safe reintegration of offenders by providing a supervised and supportive living environment. Community corrections actively encourages offenders to assume responsibility for their actions during the course of their conditional release.

Safe reintegration requires that offenders participate in establishing and attaining the goals of their Correctional Plan and obtaining and maintaining long-term employment in the community. Offenders have access to their Case Management Team for questions they have or for offender-related issues.

Community corrections is a mix of three interrelated activities - supervision, programming and community involvement.

Supervision is the direct monitoring of and communication with offenders. It is carried out by CSC community staff known as Parole Officers. All offenders on conditional release are supervised no matter where they live - whether in the city or remote parts of the country. The degree of supervision will depend on the level of need the the offender has; higher-need offenders receive closer monitoring and more frequent contacts. By being aware of the offender's situation, staff can help ensure that the offender stays on track and take action when the offender breaks rules.

Supervision along with good programming assists offenders in becoming law-abiding citizens. Each offender on community release is expected to participate in programs tailored to his/her needs. Please see below for more information on programming.

Community involvement is essential to both supervision and programming. CSC staff rely on community contacts for important information on offenders that helps the supervision process. People in the community may find out, for example, that the offender has violated conditions or is in an emotional crisis and relay this information to CSC.

Supervision in Community Corrections

The Parole Officer supervises offenders in the community. Parole work is based on a professional relationship with each offender and on a study of the risk factors that contribute to the individual's criminal behaviour. The Parole Officer ensures the offender follows his/her Correctional Plan by:

• conducting regular visits with the offender, with or without warning;
• contacting family, police and employers; and
• checking with persons who may be assisting the offender in a program.

This process evaluates the offender's progress in reintegrating into the community, identifies the offender's continuing needs, and determines whether the offender's conditional releaseshould continue. If there is a need, the Parole Officer is responsible to initiate a process to return the offender to custody.  

Parole Officers write reports on the progress of each offender and discuss them with their supervisors. Officers work together with many community agencies to help secure stable housing, employment, income and positive personal contacts.

Each Parole Officer is responsible for, on average, a caseload of 25 to 30 offenders. CSC operates 64 local parole offices, each responsible for a specific geographical area and the management of offenders within it. The local parole office is the base from which most of community corrections takes place.

Community-Based Residential Facilities

Offenders may be required as part of their conditional release conditions to reside in a Community-Based Residential Facility. These are a critical component of safe reintegration and include:

• Community Correctional Centres (CCCs) operated by CSC
• Community Residential Facilities (CRFs) managed by community agencies on contract with CSC.

These facilities support public safety as they serve as a bridge between incarceration and the community, promoting the successful reintegration of offenders into the community.

CBRFs are based within the eight Community Corrections Districts - Atlantic, Quebec East/West, Montreal-Metropolitan, Central Ontario, Greater Ontario and Nunavut, Alberta and Northwest Territories, Manitoba/Saskatchewan/Northwest Ontario, and the Pacific.

A Case Management Team, led by a Parole Officer, supervises offenders in CBRFs.  Community-based programs and interventions are implemented in accordance with the offender’s individualized Correctional Plan. The levels of intervention and supervision are adjusted based on the offender's progress. 

Community Correctional Centres (CCCs)

CCCs are staffed by CSC personnel, and provide 24-hour supervision and monitoring of offenders required to reside there by conditional release, such as day parole. CCCs are classed as minimum security, and due to their role in the community, they conform to specific minimum security standards.

There are 16 CCCs in Canada to accommodate offenders under federal jurisdiction.  CCCs may accommodate offenders with special needs (mental health problems, physical or cognitive disabilities) as well as older offenders (including those with chronic illnesses and palliative care needs).

Supervision in CCCs involves routine searches of rooms and other areas of the CCC. At minimum, a thorough visual inspection of all offender-accessible areas is conducted within each 30-day period. These searches aim to detect contraband or unauthorized items which may jeopardize the safety or individuals or the security of the facility. Two counts of the offender population within the facility during each 24-hour period are also conducted.

Community Residential Facilities (CRFs)

CSC also maintains contracts with approximately 175 Community Residential Facilities (CRFs). CRFs are run by organizations contracted by CSC, while CCCs are directly run by CSC. There are approximately 200 contracts with community agencies and individuals, including CRFs, hostels, treatment centres, supervised apartments and private home placements.  On a given day, these services have a capacity to provide residential support for approximately 2,000 offenders under community supervision.

CRFs, like CCCs, provide structured living environments with 24-hour supervision as well as intervention, support, monitoring and accommodation to offenders on release.  These facilities may have an enhanced programming component for residents that may include life skills, substance abuse, employment counselling and/or crisis counselling.

Programs

CSC provides a range of programs, services and support to assist offenders as they return to their communities.  Numerous partners are involved in providing essential services to CSC as part of the community corrections process.  In addition to offenders and their families, their employers and associates, CSC works with non-governmental organizations, municipal and provincial community agencies, police at the municipal, regional, provincial and national levels, Citizens’ Advisory Committees, and volunteer groups and organizations. 

CBRFs facilitate the delivery of specialized programs and services to a mixed offender population. Correctional planning for community-supervised offenders provides programs that require offenders to take responsibility for their actions as they re-integrate into the community with support networks behind them.

Programs offered include:

• sex offender programs;
• family violence prevention;
• substance abuse treatment;
• reasoning and reintegration;
• living skills development;
• personal development;
• education and vocation programs;
• relapse prevention;
• reasoning and rehabilitation programs; and,
• Aboriginal substance abuse and basic healing programs.

Community Employment Counsellors are available for offenders to provide assistance with various tasks, such as résumé writing, job search and interview preparation.  Additionally, they may assist offenders with exploring educational and/or vocational opportunities.  Community Employment Counsellors also conduct outreach activities with potential employers in the community, to explore additional options for offender employment. 

Community Residential Alternatives

The Community Residential Alternatives initiative enhances CSC’s capacity to meet offenders’ housing needs and increases their likelihood of safe and successful reintegration.  Specifically, Community Residential Alternatives develop, implement, and evaluate reintegration assistance for offenders requiring specialized services (e.g., older offenders, offenders with mental health issues, women offenders, and Aboriginal offenders).  These program alternatives include:

1. Stella Burry Community Services—Community Support Program

The Community Support Program (St. John’s, Newfoundland) is a joint federal-provincial initiative that aims to improve the quality of lives and promote the independent living of men and women who have complex mental health needs and a history of alternating between mental health care services and correctional facilities at the federal and provincial levels.

2. Projet Oxygène

Projet Oxygène (Montreal, Quebec) targets male offenders 50 years of age and older and long-term offenders experiencing community reintegration difficulties.  Support services are directed toward addressing offenders’ day-to-day reintegration concerns (e.g., life skills teaching, referrals to other community groups, employment and financial support, support related to health issues, crisis intervention, etc.) and providing emotional support.  Projet Oxygène also assists older and long-term offenders to identify residential options and secure appropriate and affordable housing.

3. Intensive Management Program

The Intensive Management Program (Kamloops, British Columbia) provides intensive outreach services to offenders on conditional release who are affected by a mental disorder or brain injury, and to those who have special needs.  Services also focus on the variety of special needs with which these target groups typically present, such as substance abuse, mental health issues, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and effects (FASD-FAE), and low functioning abilities.  Intensive Management Program participants are typically housed in one of four residences, each of which is operated by the John Howard Society.  Outreach services are also provided to offenders living in their homes.

See the Correctional Program Descriptions for more details on the correctional programs offered for offenders in the community.