Important
- Risk, Need, Responsivity (RNR) Model – The professor explicitly stated this is a very important topic that frequently appears as a short answer question on the exam; students must be able to define the risk principle, need principle, and responsivity, and provide specific examples of each.
- Types of Release in Canada – Students were instructed to read the textbook in depth on this topic, as there will definitely be questions on the exam regarding the differences between temporary absences, day parole, full parole, and statutory release.
- Sentencing Disparity – The professor explicitly noted this as a term students need to know, representing the unwarranted variation in sentences applied to similar crimes committed by similar offenders.
- Criminogenic Needs – Students were specifically instructed to note down examples of these needs—namely criminal attitudes, criminal associates, and substance abuse—as changing them is reliably associated with reductions in criminal behaviour.
Core Concepts
- Sentencing Options: The various legal sanctions judges can apply in Canada, ranging from least to most restrictive: absolute discharge, conditional discharge, restitution, fines, community service, conditional sentences (served in the community), and imprisonment.
- Goals of Sentencing: The primary objectives behind sanctioning offenders, which include specific deterrence, general deterrence, denunciation, separating offenders from society, rehabilitation, reparation, and promoting a sense of responsibility.
- Fundamental Principle of Sentencing: The foundational rule in the Canadian Criminal Code dictating that a sentence must be directly proportionate to the gravity of the offence and the offender’s degree of responsibility.
- Systematic and Unsystematic Disparity: Systematic disparity refers to consistent differences in sentencing philosophy between different judges (e.g., a consistently harsh judge versus a lenient one), while unsystematic disparity refers to inconsistencies in a single judge’s decisions over time due to mood or extraneous factors.
- Dangerous Offender (DO) Designation: A Canadian legal designation for individuals with a prior history of violent or sexual crimes and a high risk of future violence, resulting in an indeterminate prison sentence.
- Statutory Release: A form of conditional release in Canada where most federal inmates must, by law, be released under supervision after serving two-thirds of their sentence (unless they are serving a life sentence or designated as dangerous offenders).
- Death Row Syndrome: The severe psychological distress, isolation, and hopelessness experienced by inmates waiting on death row, which can lead to suicidal ideation and the feeling that they deserve to die.
- Correctional Quackery: Bizarre, ineffective programs (e.g., cross-dressing, vision training, baby treatment) that fail to target criminogenic needs and have no effect on reducing recidivism.
Theories and Frameworks
- Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) Model: A framework for effective offender rehabilitation dictating that treatment intensity should match offender risk (Risk), interventions should target changeable factors linked to crime rather than mental health alone (Need), and treatment delivery should match the offender’s specific learning style and abilities (Responsivity).
- Restorative Justice: A sentencing approach focused on healing and repairing the harm caused by a crime, prioritizing accountability and bringing the victim, offender, and community together voluntarily to resolve the aftermath of the offence.
Notable Individuals
- Don Andrews: Canadian researcher and co-developer of the principles of effective correctional intervention (the RNR model).
- James Bonta: Co-developer of the RNR model whose work helped fight against “correctional quackery” and ineffective treatment programs.
- Ralph Serin: Canadian researcher who developed an evidence-based, structured framework for parole boards to make more accurate and transparent release decisions.
- Paul Bernardo: Infamous Canadian offender cited in class as a prime example of an individual receiving a Dangerous Offender designation due to the severity of his crimes.
- Michael Ross: An executed serial killer whose 17 years on death row exemplified the severe psychological deterioration known as “death row syndrome.”
- Jordan Arcand: The defendant in a notable Canadian appeal case (R. v. Arcand) used to demonstrate the importance of “starting point sentences” to combat unwarranted sentencing disparity.