Position of the Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (CAEFS) Regarding the Conditional Release Options Required by Federally Sentenced Women

Identification of the Issues

Ten years ago the Standing Committee on Justice and Solicitor General reported upon the critical inadequacy of community correctional services for women in Canada. In 1990, the Task Force on Federally Sentenced Women reiterated the observation and further noted that there was no "evidence of concerted efforts in the past to document the situation and develop an appropriate, effective strategy to address deficiencies" (p. 66 of Creating Choices). In March of 1996, the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) hosted a National Workshop to Develop a Community Strategy for Federally Sentenced Women. Participants spoke of the urgent need fro concrete action to address the deficit of community release options for federally sentenced women. Recently, CSC issued a Community Strategy or Women on Conditional Release Discussion Paper.

The CSC Discussion Paper provides a good introduction and a useful outline of some of the key issues pertaining to the community integration needs of federally sentenced women. While it also provides a few examples of the sorts of programming options that might be developed for women, it lacks the prerequisite profile of the services, programs, practices and approaches currently utilized for women throughout Canada. There are regional variations in terms of the nature and extent of service deficits. Accordingly, prior to responding to the Discussion Paper, CAEFS canvassed its own membership and contacted the Deputy Commissioners in each of the regions, with a view to discerning current and contemplated conditional release service options in each of the regions.

CAEFS contends that there is an urgent need to address the community release requirements of federally sentenced women. We are particularly concerned about the complete lack of women-only and women-directed residential release options in the Prairie and Atlantic regions. We also insist that the current system, which was designed for men, does not serve the releasing needs of women. Release options should also reflect the relatively low risk to the safety of the public posed by women, including their lower overall recidivism rate compared to men, and the far smaller percentage of the violent crimes committed by women (Federally Sentenced Women Program, Literature Review, CSC, 1994). Accordingly, we believe that these factors should be included in principles outlined in the Discussion Paper as underlying the community strategy.

In addition to creativity and flexibility, community development and partnerships and re-incarceration as a last resort, CAEFS is of the view that the following factors are also fundamental principles that should underlie the community strategy: