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Commissioner's Directive 705-1
Preliminary Assessments and Post-Sentence Community Assessments

From: Correctional Service Canada

Authorities

Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA), sections 3, 3.1, 4, 23, 24, 
81 and 84

Purpose

To ensure that information is gathered and analyzed during the Preliminary Assessment and the Post-Sentence Community Assessment.

Application

Applies to staff responsible for gathering and analyzing offender information and contact information.


Commissioner's Directive

Correctional Service Canada badge

Number: 705-1

In Effect: 2023-09-11

Related links: Policy Bulletin 701

Content

Responsibilities

  1. The Parole Officer Supervisor will ensure:
    1. the Preliminary Assessment, the Custody Rating Scale (decentralized intake and offenders going to a women’s institution) are completed, and the Post-Sentence Community Assessment is requested
    2. the Manager, Assessment and Interventions/Manager, Intensive Intervention Strategy, is notified in the event the Preliminary Assessment is not completed and/or the Post-Sentence Community Assessment is not requested. Actions taken to ensure the reports are completed will be documented in a Casework Record
    3. within their quality assessment review of the Post-Sentence Community Assessment Report, that the necessary steps have been taken or efforts have been made, by the Parole Officers, to reach the identified source of community support. Actions taken to reach the identified source of community support will be documented in the Post-Sentence Community Assessment Report.

Procedures

Preliminary Assessments

  1. The community Parole Officer will:
    1. conduct the interview with the offender by phone, videoconference or in person and complete the Preliminary Assessment (outlined in Annex B) in the Offender Management System (OMS) within five working days following notification to the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) of the pronouncement of the sentence. Any exceptional circumstances (e.g., sentencing in a remote location) which delay these activities will be documented in a Casework Record
    2. complete/update the “Tombstone Data” fields in OMS as outlined in Annex B
    3. inform the offender about the federal correctional system and answer any questions
    4. gather information regarding the offender's next of kin and emergency contacts
    5. consult information from other components of the criminal justice system related to the Preliminary Assessment, if available
    6. identify and document in OMS any immediate security needs, as well as any alerts, flags, needs or other concerns (including any physical or mental health issues), excluding those to be entered by health professionals
    7. register if the offender identifies as gender diverse, including their desire to be sent to a men’s or women’s institution for the intake assessment, and immediately notify the Parole Officer Supervisor
  1. When notified by the community Parole Officer of the offender’s gender-related needs, the Parole Officer Supervisor will inform the Institutional Head at the intake site and the Area Director/District Director to ensure procedures are followed per Commissioner’s Directive (CD) 100 – Gender Diverse Offenders.

Custody Rating Scale

  1. The community Parole Officer will complete the Custody Rating Scale before the offender is transferred to a federal institution, pursuant to CD 705-6 – Correctional Planning and Criminal Profile and CD 705-7 – Security Classification and Penitentiary Placement, when:
    1. an offender requests a penitentiary placement in a women’s institution
    2. an offender is in a region with a decentralized intake unit.

Post-Sentence Community Assessments

  1. The community Parole Officer will:
    1. request the Post-Sentence Community Assessment(s) from the designated parole office(s)
    2. upon notification of the request, complete the Post-Sentence Community Assessment, as outlined in Annex C, within 40 days of the offender’s admission to federal custody when a new source of community support has been identified, and will:
      1. send a written communication to the identified source of community support if this source is unable to be reached via phone communications
      2. document these efforts/steps in the Post-Sentence Community Assessment Report prior to locking it in OMS.

Offenders Placed Directly in a Federal Institution upon Sentencing

  1. The Manager, Assessment and Interventions/Manager, Intensive Intervention Strategy, will ensure, within five days of the offender's admission, that:
    1. the Preliminary Assessment is completed
    2. the Custody Rating Scale is completed. If the offender is admitted to an Intake Assessment Unit or a Regional Reception Centre, the Custody Rating Scale will be completed as part of the intake assessment process in accordance with CD 705-7 ‒ Security Classification and Penitentiary Placement
    3. the Post-Sentence Community Assessment is requested (excluding in the case of international transfers as a Community Assessment is completed for transfers).
  1. The institutional Parole Officer of the Intake Assessment Unit or Regional Reception Centre will, within five days of the offender's admission:
    1. complete the Preliminary Assessment
    2. complete the Custody Rating Scale. If the offender is admitted to an Intake Assessment Unit or a Regional Reception Centre, the Custody Rating Scale will be completed as part of the intake assessment process in accordance with CD 705-7 ‒ Security Classification and Penitentiary Placement
    3. request the Post-Sentence Community Assessment (excluding in the case of international transfers as a Community Assessment is completed for transfers).

Enquiries

Strategic Policy Division
National Headquarters
Email: Gen-NHQPolicy-Politi@csc-scc.gc.ca

Commissioner,

Anne Kelly

Annex A - Cross-References and Definitions

Cross-References

CD 001 – Mission, Values and Ethics Framework of the Correctional Service of Canada

CD 087 – Official Languages

CD 100 – Gender Diverse Offenders

CD 228 – Information Management

CD 559 – Visits

GL 568-7-1 – Management of Incompatible Offenders

CD 700 – Correctional Interventions

CD 701 – Information Sharing

CD 702 – Indigenous Offenders

CD 703 – Sentence Management

CD 704 – International Transfers

CD 705 – Intake Assessment Process and Correctional Plan Framework

CD 705-2 – Information Collection

CD 705-6 – Correctional Planning and Criminal Profile

CD 710-2 – Transfer of Inmates

CD 710-3 – Temporary Absences

CD 710-7 – Work Releases

GL 712-1-1 – CCRA Sections 84 and 84.1 Release Planning Process

CD 715 – Community Supervision Framework

CD 715-1 – Community Supervision

CD 715-2 – Post-Release Decision Process

CD 715-3 – Community Assessments

CD 784 – Victim Engagement

CD 785 – Restorative Opportunities Program and Victim-Offender Mediation Services

GL 800-3 – Consent to Health Service Assessment, Treatment and Release of Information

Access to Information Act

Privacy Act

Definitions

Custody Rating Scale: a research-based tool used to assist in assessing the most appropriate level of security for the penitentiary placement of an inmate.

Emergency contact: the person identified by an inmate who will be contacted by CSC representatives in the event of an emergency or death.

Gender diverse: an umbrella term for gender identities or gender expressions that differ from dominant cultural or societal expectations based on sex assigned at birth, which encompasses all gender identities (e.g., non-binary, transgender, two-spirited).

*Other common terms associated with the term gender diverse are “gender variant” and “gender non-conforming”. Someone who is gender diverse may or may not also identify as transgender.

Next of kin: relative identified on the inmate’s contact list.

Sex: the biological classification of a person as female, male or intersex. It is usually assigned at birth based on a visual assessment of external anatomy. Sex is primarily associated with physical and physiological features, including chromosomes, gene expression, hormone levels and function, and reproductive/sexual anatomy.

Source of community support: a person close to the offender or community agencies with whom the offender wishes to maintain contact while incarcerated and/or in the community and who can provide support.

Annex B

Preliminary Assessment - Report Outline

Checklist for the interview

Note: The information gathered for the Preliminary Assessment is mainly offender self-reported and is subject to confirmation.

1 Name of offender Alias(es)
2 Date of birth Place of birth                           
3 FPS number

Sex       

Male___  Female___ 

Intersex___
4 Any gender-related needs identified Yes ____  No ____
5 Offender Location  
6 Marital Status

Married ____ 

Common law ____  Separated ____

Single ____   

Divorced _____ Widowed____ 

Unknown ____
7 Preferred official language    

English ____   

French ____ 

Need for translator ____
8 Citizenship

Canadian ____ 

Dual citizenship: ___________ 

Unknown ____ 

Other country: ___________
9 Served in the Canadian Armed Forces Yes ____  No ____
10    Race/Ethnicity Status ____________________    Band no. ___________               
11 Religion  
12 Contact in case of emergency        
 

Name   

Relationship 

Address

Telephone 

Email address (only for sharing non-personal information) 

  
13 Next of kin contact  
 

Name   

Relationship 

Address

Telephone   

Email address (only for sharing non-personal information) 

  
14

Interest in traditional healing path

Informed of sections 81 and 84 of the CCRA

Interested in section 81

Interested in section 84

Yes ____  No ____

Yes ____  No ____

Yes ____  No ____

Yes ____  No ____
15

Current offence(s)

Type of offence(s)

Length of sentence

Date of sentencing

Police force

  
16 Waiver signed as per section 12 of the CCRA Yes ____  No ____
17

The offender version of the offence(s) becomes a permanent part of the Criminal Profile Report.

Offender version of offence(s) [description, violence, weapon used, factors leading up to the decision to commit, and motive for, the offence(s), part played by the offender in the offence(s), name, role and status of accomplices, offender’s attitude towards the offence(s), level of remorse, intent to appeal, etc.]

 

  
Immediate Needs
Security
________  May be affiliated with a security threat group
________  Concerns exist regarding incompatibles (pursuant to policy direction outlined in GL 568‑7‑1 – Management of Incompatible Offenders)
________  Protected or confidential information exists (Do not enter Protected C information or confidential information in the comments section. If uncertain, contact your supervisor and/or Security Intelligence Officer.)
________  Previous institutional adjustment/integration concerns exist

Comments (for any checked indicator, explain)

 

 
CONTACTS FOR POST-SENTENCE COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT
(for all cases)
Name
Relationship
Contact type
Address
Telephone
Name
Relationship
Contact type
Address
Telephone
Name
Relationship
Contact type
Address
Telephone

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS (if applicable)

 

 

 

PAROLE OFFICER'S ASSESSMENT

Institutional adjustment issues to incarceration and/or to serve sentence and/or any concerns noted during the interview with regard to physical and mental health, gender, ethnicity, culture, religion, language, being a visible minority, etc.

 

 

OFFICIAL IDENTIFICATION

Does the offender have copies of the following? If yes, encourage the offender to have the available identification cards/documents sent to the institution as this will facilitate their eventual reintegration to the community. The offender should also be encouraged to apply for the missing cards/documents. All identification cards/documents will be tracked and stored with the offender’s personal property.

Birth certificate

               YES/NO - Location*

Citizenship/permanent residency card

               YES/NO - Location*

Indian Status card, Métis card, Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) N-Number      

                YES/NO - Location*

Provincial health card    YES/NO - Location*

               Date d'expiration

Social insurance number or card

                YES/NO - Location*

Driver's license

                YES/NO - Location*

Other:   Location*

 

 

Does the offender need to request new copies of the above?      

              YES/NO
*             If applicable, add the name of the community support

Annex C - Post-Sentence Community Assessment - Report Outline

If the offender is a federal recidivist, with the same community contacts, update only relevant information.

In cases where the offender is a federal recidivist and the offender does not provide a contact, previous contacts can be used.

1 Notification to third party
  • Contacts will be advised that information provided will be shared with the offender.
  • Should the identity of the contact require protection, the information will be documented in a Protected Information Report.
  • The contact will be informed that a summary or "gist" of any information disclosed will be provided to the offender if this information is to be used in the decision making process.
2 Source(s) of information
  • For each contact, provide a synopsis which includes their name, date of birth, occupation, relationship to the offender, date of interview, description of the environment where the interview took place (if relevant) and other relevant observations about this person.
  • Indicate the contact’s criminal history or Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) results, if applicable.
3 Offender’s relationship with the contact or significant others

Based on information provided by the contact, provide an assessment of:

  • the nature of the relationship between the offender and contact
  • their ability to provide support to the offender during the sentence and upon release to the community.
4 Criminal history

Contact’s comments on:

  • the offender’s criminal behaviour (the age at which problems with the law started, type and frequency of offences, history of placement in juvenile or adult institutions)
  • the offender’s performance on bail
  • original charges versus final outcome, and fairness of the sentence
  • the offender's accountability, motivation, responsivity and engagement.

Parole Officer’s assessment of:

  • the contact’s attitude toward the offender’s criminal behaviour and ability to successfully reintegrate, the nature and gravity of the offence and the degree of responsibility of the offender.
5 Contributing factors

Contact’s comments on:

  • what contributed to the offender’s criminal activity
  • awareness or use of social or community services by the contact and the offender, including those related to gender, ethnicity, culture, religion, language and/or visible minorities, as relevant
  • the offender’s motivation to engage in their Correctional Plan.

Parole Officer’s assessment of:

  • availability of community resources that could address the offender’s needs upon release (if applicable), ensuring consideration of needs related to gender, ethnicity, culture, religion, language and/or being a visible minority.
6 Indigenous social history and sections 81 and 84
(see CD 702)
 
  • When the Post-Sentence Community Assessment is being conducted for an Indigenous offender, the Parole Officer will include, where applicable, Indigenous community leaders or representatives.
  • They will also take that opportunity to provide information on sections 81 and 84 of the CCRA, and encourage the development of custody or release planning for that offender at the earliest time.
7 Temporary absences and private family visits (as applicable)

Contact’s comments on:              

  • family eligibility and interest in participating in private family visits
  • interest in receiving the offender on temporary absences and the ability and willingness to provide suitable accommodation
  • concerns with respect to family violence (current or past relationships)
  • the offender’s past and present marital status and parenting responsibilities.              

Parole Officer’s assessment of:              

  • the value the contact and offender place on family
  • the family dynamics
  • the relevance of unescorted temporary absences and private family visits, including reporting and supervision requirements, type and frequency of contacts.
8 Overall assessment

Parole Officer’s assessment of:              

  • level and quality of the source of community support available to the offender
  • victim concerns identified by the contacts about harm they suffered or that others suffered; discrepancies in how the offender and the contacts describe the relationships; fear or safety concerns expressed by the contacts; etc.

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