To Incarcerate or Not to Incarcerate: Sentencing in Canada since the 1996 Reforms

• In Event: International Perspectives on Sentencing

Abstract

In 1996, the Canadian government adopted sentencing reforms meant to reduce the courts’ reliance on incarceration by introducing non-carceral options such as conditional sentencing. Previous research has questioned the effectiveness of the bill given that judges are left to subjectively determine how to balance legal factors, offender background, and rehabilitation but few have measured sentencing outcomes and trends since these introductions (Roberts & Stenning 2002; Welsh & Ogloff 2008). Using data from the Integrated Criminal Court Survey from Statistics Canada, I aim to understand 1) How sentencing trends have evolved since the introduction of the reforms, 2) If judges still favour carceral outcomes, and 3) How severity of crime (measured by maximum term punishable by crime) influences non-carceral/carceral outcomes. Preliminary analyses indicate that sentencing outcomes are largely influenced by severity of crime, in particular crimes that involve physical harm to another individual. However, over time, there has been an increase in non-carceral sentencing, indicating that, to an extent, the reforms have encouraged the use of alternative methods of punishment.

Author

• Ann-Marie Helou, McGill University