International Transfers 2013-2014 Annual Report

Preface

This report provides a statistical overview on the International Transfer of Offenders program's activities over the last ten fiscal years.

The data is from the Correctional Service of Canada's (CSC) International Transfers Database, CSC's Offender Management System (OMS), and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD). The source of the statistics is indicated under each chart, table or figure. The data is reported by fiscal year (from April 1 to March 31 of the following year).

Please be advised that, in some instances, figures have been revised from earlier annual reports.

The report is prepared by the International Transfers Unit of CSC.

Introduction

At any given time, there are over 1800^{Footnote 1} Canadian citizens incarcerated throughout the world as well as over 1000^{Footnote 2} foreign national offenders under CSC's jurisdiction. Canadians serving a sentence of imprisonment abroad face serious problems such as isolation, culture shock, language barriers and a lack of programs available to foreign nationals.

Canada has entered into international transfer agreements with over 112 foreign entities and territories through 15 bilateral treaties, and three multi-lateral schemes; the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons, the Scheme for the Transfer of Convicted Offenders within the Commonwealth, and the Organization of American States Inter-American Convention on Serving Criminal Sentences Abroad. These agreements enable persons who have been convicted abroad and sentenced to imprisonment, a term of conditional release or any other form of community supervision in a foreign entity, to serve their foreign imposed sentence in their country of citizenship, with their explicit consent. Along with Canada's implementing legislation International Transfers of Offenders Act (ITOA), these agreements are the legal basis for effecting international transfers.

Transfers provide offenders with the possibility of becoming productive members of the community, by contributing to the administration of justice and the rehabilitation of offender and their reintegration into society as law abiding citizens.

Section A Overview of Transfers

International Transfers History

The first transfer of offenders took place in 1978 between Canada and the United States. It included the transfer of 29 Canadian citizens and 40 American citizens.

As of March 31, 2014, a total of 1,927 offenders have been transferred. Of those, 1,797 Canadians were transferred to Canada, whereas 130 foreign nationals were transferred from Canada to their country of citizenship.

Transfers to Canada from Foreign Countries

The majority, 1,417 of the 1,797 Canadian citizens transferred to Canada, since 1978, were sent from the United States. Of those, 1256 were under Federal jurisdiction, while 161 were State offenders.

Mexico had the second largest amount of Canadians, with 62 offenders, followed by the United Kingdom and Japan with 37 offenders each, and then Peru with 35 offenders.

Transfers from Canada to Foreign Countries

Of the 130 offenders transferred from Canada to foreign countries since 1978, 109 (83.8%) were American citizens. The remainder of the offenders transferred to the following countries:

• 8 (6.2%) to the Netherlands
• 4 (3.1%) to France
• 4 (3.1%) to the United Kingdom
• 5 (3.8%) to all other countries.^{Footnote 3}

Figure A1: Transfers from Canada to foreign countries during last 10 fiscal years

Source: International Transfers Database

Section B Applications for Transfer

At any given time, there are over 300 applications for transfer being processed by the International Transfers Unit with an additional average of 254 new applications received each year.

Administrative Arrangements

If no treaty is in force between Canada and a foreign entity on the transfer of offenders, the ITOA allows Canada to enter into an administrative arrangement with the foreign entity for the transfer of offenders on a case-by-case basis (section 31 and 32 of the ITOA).

Section C Processing Timeframes

The International Transfers Unit is committed to processing international transfer applications in a timely fashion, from the date of receipt of the sentencing documentation (i.e. judgment, sentence data information, and summary of facts) from the foreign entity to obtaining the Minister's decision. Processing times vary based on the complexity of the cases, the accuracy of documentation, the translation of documents, and the increasing number of applications being received.

Of the 1024 applications processed over the last 10 fiscal years:

• 281 applications (27%) were processed in less than six months time;
• 205 applications (20%) were processed between six to nine months; and
• 538 applications (53%) were processed in more than nine months.
  • 173 applications were processed between nine to twelve months; and
  • 220 applications were processed between 12 to 18 months; and
  • 86 applications were processed between 18 to 24 months; and
  • 59 applications were processed in more than 24 months.

Figure C1: Average processing timeframes

Source: International Transfers Database

Section D Outcome of applications

During the last 10 fiscal years, the International Transfers Unit received 2,542 new applications for transfer.

Results of Applications Processed

As of March 31, 2014, of those 2,542 applications received:

• 1,214 (48%) resulted in a denial by either country;
• 596 (23%) resulted in a transfer^{Footnote 4};
• 194 (8%) offenders withdrew their application;
• 123 (5%) offenders were deemed ineligible;
• 415 (16%) other.

Not all applications received resulted in an approval, denial or withdrawal. Of the remaining 415 (16%) applications some:

• offenders were released from the institution and ultimately deported (depending on the country's legislation; release from the institution can be at the expiration of the sentence, or before, if good time credits are earned, mandatory release, etc.);
• offenders passed away;
• applications were still in process at the end of the fiscal year because of the complexity of the cases or the lengthy processing timeframes.

Source: International Transfers Database

Of the 415 other applications, 250 were still in process as of March 31, 2014. Of those 250, there were 102 transfer application files with the Department of Public Safety or the Minister's Office.

Section E Canadian Decisions Rendered by the Minister

During the last 10 fiscal years, CSC has submitted an average of 137 applications per year to the Minister of Public Safety for decision with 69% of them already with a foreign approval.

Factors for Consideration by the Minister of Public Safety

In determining whether to consent to the transfer of a Canadian offender, the Minister of Public Safety must take into consideration a number of factors listed in section 10 of the International Transfer of Offenders Act^{Footnote 5}:

As detailed in the next table (Table E1), of the 1,274 decisions rendered by the Minister of Public Safety, between April 1, 2004 and March 31, 2014, 24% were denials and 76% were approvals.

Not all files submitted to the Minister result in the Minister rendering a decision. While the file is under consideration by the Minister, the offender may withdraw his request for transfer, they may be released from custody, or the foreign country may deny the application. In such circumstances, CSC's International Transfers Unit terminated the process of the transfer application.

Decisions by the Minister of Public Safety

The following table indicates the number of decisions rendered by the Minister of Public Safety during the past 10 fiscal years. The numbers include both offenders requesting a transfer to Canada, and those requesting a transfer from Canada. The numbers also include decisions rendered by fiscal year, regardless of the date the transfer application was received, processed and submitted to the Minister for decision.

Source: International Transfers Database

Of the decisions rendered, 37 approvals and 4 denials were rendered under the new ITOA (in effect since May 2012).

The significantly low number of applications that were denied in 2011-2012 (4) is attributed to the addition of a new step in the processing of transfer applications that introduced a mandatory sharing of the information contained in the file submitted to the Minister for consideration. Through this new step, the applicants have the opportunity to make additional submissions to the Minister in support of their case.

Reasons for denials

The following chart illustrates the reasons of the denials (in percentage) handed down by the Minister of Public Safety between April 1, 2004 and March 31, 2014, based on factors listed in section 10 of the International Transfer of Offenders Act.

As of March 31, 2014 – only 4 denials had been rendered under the new ITOA in force since May 3, 2012 (based on sections 10(1)a, 10(1)c, 10(1)d and 10(2)a).

Figure E2: Reasons for denials based on articles of legislation during the last ten fiscal years

Source: International Transfers Database

Timeframe between Decisions and the Transfer

Once an offender's request to transfer is approved by the Minister of Public Safety, the foreign country and the offender's consent is verified, the International Transfers Unit initiates and coordinates the offender's repatriation operation. This timeframe is dependant upon receipt of the foreign country's approval, the offender's consent and the time required to organize the transfer. The date and location of the actual repatriation operation must be agreed upon by both countries. In certain countries, there are internal legislation and/or protocols related to the timeframe required for the movement of an offender that has been approved for an international transfer.

Canada and the United States have agreed to four set transfers per year, due to the high volume of transfers between these two countries.

The following chart illustrates the average time (in days) that was required to effect a transfer, from the day all required approvals were received, regardless of which country approved first, to the transfer date.

In the last 10 fiscal years, 12 transfers were first time transfer operations (Australia, Bolivia, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Chile, Croatia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Japan, Norway, Romania and South Korea).

Figure E3: Timeframe to effect the Transfer following both approvals

Source: International Transfers Database

Various factors that can have an impact on the above timeline:

• Time required to draft and implement a transfer operation protocol when dealing with a country's first transfer operation;
• The complexity of a transfer operation protocol with certain countries;
• The availability of transfer teams in both countries; and
• The fact that there are pre-established dates for transfer operation with our most important partner, the United States.

Section F Transfer Statistics

Transfer Operations

Offenders are generally transferred shortly after all parties (Canada, sentencing country and the offender) have consented to the transfer. Delays may be the result of the complexity of the transfer operation, a pre-established protocol with a country, or simply distance and operational capability.

The frequency of transfer operations are generally determined by the requirements of the receiving and sending countries and of the offender. CSC's International Transfers Unit, in conjunction with the respective country, sets the transfer dates, plans, and implements the ensuing transfer operations. Transfer operations can be carried out in groups or individually, depending on circumstances. Over the past 10 fiscal years, 220 transfer operations were effected for 680 offenders.

The following chart illustrates the number of operations by fiscal year and the number of offenders transferring to and from Canada.

Source: International Transfers Database

Transfers to Canada

Of the 680 offenders that transferred in the last 10 fiscal years, 668 offenders transferred to Canada while 12 transferred from Canada.

Of the offenders that transferred to Canada since the amendments to the ITOA in April 2011, only 2 offenders were required to comply with SOIRA.

Section G Follow-up

In the last 10 fiscal years, of the 668 offenders who have been transferred to Canada from a foreign country, 650 of those offenders were under CSC jurisdiction. The remaining 18 were under provincial jurisdiction or territorial, and therefore no release data is available on these offenders.

Current Status of Offenders who have been transferred to Canada

As per the table below, as of March 31, 2014, of the 650 offenders, 145 were under some form of conditional release (day parole, full parole, statutory release), while 450 had completed their sentence. Only 44 offenders had not been released to date and remained incarcerated.

The following table describes the current status of the offenders that transferred to Canada under federal jurisdiction during the last 10 fiscal years.

Source: Performance Management

Recidivism Data

Of the 650 offenders who transferred, only one (1) has been readmitted to federal custody within five years of warrant expiry date.

Conclusion

In the 36 years since the first international transfer took place with the United States, there has been a steady increase in the number of agreements in place with foreign countries.

The information contained in this report shows that the purpose and the principles of the International Transfer of Offenders Act have been fulfilled, and that the International Transfer of Offenders program is consistent with CSC's mandate and its Mission Statement. The program contributes to public safety by actively encouraging and assisting offenders to become law‑abiding citizens, while exercising reasonable, safe, secure and humane control. It ensures that offenders are gradually returned to society and that they have the opportunity to participate in programming that targets the factors that may have led to their criminal behaviour.

CSC is part of a large public safety continuum that aims to keep Canadians safe through delivering programs and services in areas such as law enforcement, border security, emergency management, national security, crime prevention and conditional release.

Furthermore, CSC has set specific priorities for 2013-2014 and beyond, which includes the safe transition of offenders into the community. The International Transfer of Offenders program is a meaningful example of CSC's progress in meeting its objectives.