Management Action Plan

Board of Investigation (BOI) Recommendations and CSC Actions

The following is the Correctional Service of Canada’s (CSC) action plan in response to the National Joint Board of Investigation into the release and supervision of an offender on Day Parole charged in relation to a serious incident in Sainte-Foy, Quebec, in January 2020.

The BOI made five recommendations. CSC accepts, and is implementing, all five in their entirety.

Information Collection and Sharing:

BOI Recommendation:

Context:

CSC has a policy on Information Collection, consistent with requirements under the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA, section 23), which outlines all documentation it is required to collect relating to an individual’s case. This information informs the case management of the offender throughout their sentence.

For context, following the offender’s admission to federal custody in December 2006, the BOI noted that CSC had requested and collected documents from the judge and the Crown prosecutor, the police report, and the criminal record detailing his history of criminal offences. However, there was information missing related to an earlier, historical, serious offence. The BOI concluded that CSC should have taken the appropriate and necessary steps to obtain this information. They also recommend that CSC define a “serious offence”, as well as relevant documents to be collected related to those offences, in CSC’s policy on Information Collection.

The BOI concluded that the communication and sharing of information between the releasing institution, the Quebec Parole Office, the Maison Painchaud CRF, the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) and the police services were adequate with respect to the offender’s release to the community.

CSC Actions:

• CSC is revising Commissioner’s Directive on Information Collection to clearly define a “serious offence” for the purpose of information collection.
• In the policy, CSC will also specify which types of documents are required and relevant to each offender’s history as it pertains to serious offences.
• CSC is putting in place a formal monitoring mechanism, which will be embedded in its Offender Management System (OMS) to create reminders for staff to identify and pursue relevant documentation until it is obtained or confirmed in writing that it is unavailable.
• CSC will issue an interim policy to provide direction to staff on the new policy requirements related to information collection.
• Until policy changes are implemented, a memorandum was issued to Regional Deputy Commissioners directing them to verify all files of offenders serving a sentence with a history of violent offences under Schedule I of the CCRA to ensure that necessary follow-ups are initiated for the collection of any missing documents.

Community Supervision:

BOI Recommendation:

Context:

Community supervision has many dimensions with public safety being a paramount consideration in any decision. The degree of supervision depends on the offender’s risk and needs. For context, the objectives of community supervision are to:

• Apply supervision strategies that respond to the offender’s risk and needs;
• Monitor the offender’s behaviour and manage the risk;
• Deliver and coordinate interventions that support safe reintegration;
• Liaise with community resources and collateral contacts;
• Monitor compliance with standard and special release conditions;
• Assist and support the offender throughout the reintegration process; and
• Record updates on progress in casework records or Correctional Plan.

As is the practice for all offenders, who are approved for parole by the PBC, a comprehensive pre-release planning period takes place before the offender is released into the community. CSC works with its partners to implement a community supervision plan outlining the measures required for the return of offenders to the community. Case management for each offender begins at sentencing and continues while they are in an institution, and through to their release into the community.

Multiple elements go into community supervision including case preparation, identifying and liaising with collateral contacts, and conducting case conferences.

The BOI found that the case preparation that resulted in the offender’s release was structured and based on a progression of consistent and timely correctional interventions in accordance with the offender’s needs and contributing factors. Case preparation was consistent with policy and met the criteria of the general principles of gradual reintegration into the community.

Collateral contacts are individuals in the community such as family members, an employer or community resources that know the offender. These individuals are identified by the Parole Officer and can confirm information related to the offender, such as their activities and behaviour while in the community.

The BOI noted significant shortcomings in terms of the case management team’s follow-up with collateral contacts to corroborate the information provided by the offender. To this end, the BOI recommends that CSC develop tools and mechanisms to ensure that contact is established with the offenders’ network of collateral contacts throughout their supervision to better assess the risk they pose as well as ensure they meet the special and standard conditions to which they are subject.

Case conferences are meetings between the case management team, which include at a minimum the person supervising the offender and a Parole Officer Supervisor. They are used to identify and discuss any risk factors related to the offender’s supervision and reassess them on an ongoing basis. CSC’s Policy on Community Supervision currently specifies that regular case conferences must be held to discuss release plans or a change in the release plan; to reassess risk and review progress; and, to discuss any required interventions, such as program referrals. In this case, the BOI found that CSC’s policy was not clear in terms of the specific elements that must be discussed during the case conferences that may point to a need to intervene or manage the risk differently.

In addition, the BOI indicated that the fact that the offender visited a massage parlour for sexual purposes was a contributing risk factor in the incident given the offender’s history of domestic violence. At all times, case management workers must ensure that supervision strategies are sound, appropriate, consistent with legislation and policies, and serve to protect public safety. CSC does not condone offenders seeking sexual services. This is simply not something that CSC endorses in the supervision of offenders.

CSC Actions:

• Given what transpired in this case, immediately following this incident in early 2020, CSC conducted a nation-wide review of all community supervision strategies for adherence to sound community supervision practices. Discussions also took place with staff, and direction was provided, to reinforce this.
• CSC has launched employee disciplinary investigations, as per Treasury Board guidelines, to determine any further accountability measures that are required.
• Since this incident occurred, employees have been reassigned from their duties and are not supervising offenders.
• CSC’s Policy on Community Supervision (Commissioner’s Directive 715-1) is being revised to include a quality control mechanism for collateral contacts.
• CSC is developing a template, which will be added to the policy on Community Supervision, that will list the specific elements to be discussed at case conferences between the Parole Supervisor and the Parole Officer. This will include a list of items to discuss at case conferences, including contacts with the network of collateral contacts (who, when, why, frequency and concerns raised), monitoring of special conditions (which ones, strategy and/or means used and concerns cited), behaviours that might suggest a change in the interventions required or in the risk the offender poses, and the offender’s progress against their Correctional Plan.
• The Area Director will be responsible for verifying that the above-noted case conferences are held regularly and will cover the list of specific elements to be discussed. This responsibility will be added to CD 715, which outlines the Community Supervision Framework.
• A tool is being developed to guide and support Parole Officers (POs) in their discussions with collateral contacts.
• Until policy changes are implemented, a memorandum was sent to all Regional Deputy Commissioners directing them to have discussions with their community management teams reinforcing the importance of case conferences, as outlined in policy. It also directs them to establish a specific list of the items to be discussed and documented during case conferences, including collateral contacts, frequency of contacts and the offender’s progress against their correctional plan.

BOI Recommendation:

Context:

CSC has, in Quebec, a direct supervision model that has existed for over 40 years where, under contract, community partners play an active role in the supervision and rehabilitation of offenders. CSC appreciates the work our community partners and contractors perform.

Community-Based Residential Facilities are halfway houses. These facilities provide a bridge between the institution and the community. They provide a structured environment, a place to stay and supports for offenders to help with their successful transition back into the community. They work on a system of gradual, supervised release. Many offer programming for residents, which may include life skills, substance abuse, and employment counselling. Offenders living in a CRF are on day parole, on statutory release with residency conditions, or on long-term supervision orders with residency conditions.

While CRFs house offenders throughout Canada, Quebec is the only CSC region where contractors directly supervise offenders.

In Quebec, contractors provide accommodation to offenders, while a small number of them directly supervise approximately 155 offenders (out of 2000 in Quebec). This was the case with Maison Painchaud Community Residential Facility (CRF), which was responsible for housing and directly supervising the offender convicted in this case, while he was on conditional release.

The BOI found that the community supervision model in place in Quebec led to shortcomings in how this case was managed. Although there was a formal contractual arrangement between the Maison Painchaud CRF and CSC, there was confusion regarding roles, responsibilities, expectations, and authorities, and as a result, this impacted the quality of the community supervision.

CSC Actions:

• Increasing consistency and accountability by having a single community supervision model for federal offenders across the country:
  • By March 31, 2021, the Maison Painchaud CRF will no longer supervise federal offenders. Offenders (approximately 14) will continue to live at the facility and CSC will take over all aspects of supervision.
  • CSC is reviewing all other contracts in Quebec with a goal of returning all direct supervision responsibilities for federal offenders back to CSC. These contractors will continue to house offenders, as is the case across the country.
  • We are committed to doing this efficiently and as quickly as possible based on discussions and engagement with our partners. We want to ensure that this be planned carefully and smoothly to ensure public safety is maintained during the transition.

When this incident occurred in early 2020, CSC took action with regards to the oversight of contractors. CSC reviewed and clarified the responsibilities and duties assigned to clinical workers at CRFs. Additional Parole Officer Supervisor positions have been added to CSC Area Offices to ensure better quality control and greater oversight of supervision strategies for cases under direct supervision. In addition, Area Directors were directed to do a monthly sampling of community strategies to ensure they are sound and to support employees in managing offenders in the community.

Training

BOI Recommendation:

Context:

Before starting their job, parole officers receive rigorous training that involves two phases for a total of 170.5 hours of training. They must also hold an undergraduate degree from a recognized university or college in a field that focuses on understanding and assessing human behaviour.

The training is broken down into different phases:

• Phase one is a 58-hour online training that covers theory and topics such as CSC and the law, and mental health. At the end of the module, candidates must be able to demonstrate a sound knowledge of the case management process and be able to apply relevant laws, policies and procedures related to the duties of the position. They must successfully pass an exam before moving onto phase two.
• Phase two is a three-week in-class training program that includes a practical component on how to supervise and manage a caseload of multiple offenders. During this portion of the training, candidates review an offender’s case, conduct mock-up interviews and risk assessments, learn how to work with the case management team, the community and other sources such as family and co-workers of the offender. Once the second phase is completed a learning plan is developed for the Parole Officer.
• Parole Officers must also attend a mandatory annual five-day training for Continuous Development, which focuses on maintaining skillsets and addressing emerging case management issues and trends.

CSC Actions:

• CSC will develop and implement new training on Intimate Partner Violence, which is broader than domestic violence and includes violence between intimate partners who may or may not be living together in the same household. This new training will be delivered by experts in the field. It will complement the current training on the Spousal Assault Risk Assessment that must be completed by all Parole Officers; Parole Officer supervisors; Managers, Assessment and Interventions; and Community Correctional Centre Managers within six months of their appointment.
• The new training will be included in the upcoming Parole Officer Continuous Development Training. It will then be offered to all new Parole Officers on an ongoing basis, as part of the Parole Officer Induction Training.

Accountability, Responsibility and Transparency

Public safety is our business. It must guide every decision we make in the supervision of federal offenders in the community. CSC is a large organization that manages over 12,600 offenders in institutions and approximately 9,400 offenders under supervision in communities.

It is extremely rare that an offender on day parole commits a violent offence. Our dedicated employees and community partners work day in and day out to keep it that way but when a terrible tragedy like this happens, we must do everything possible to learn from it and prevent it from happening again.

This arm’s length investigation has played an important role in examining the various components of this case from an administrative standpoint, based on the principles of accountability, responsibility, and transparency.

CSC is resolved in its commitment to working closely with its employees, community partners, and unions to implement all of the recommendations as presented to us. This will lead to important changes in how we supervise offenders and deliver on our mandate to keep communities safe.