Conditional Release and Performance – Long-Term Supervision

Official Title: Performance Monitoring Report 2018-2019, Conditional Release and Performance – Long-Term Supervision
From: Parole Board of Canada

Long-Term Supervision

Tables 142-146

The court may impose a Long-Term Supervision Order (LTSO), not exceeding 10 years, if it is satisfied that it would be appropriate to impose a sentence of two years or more for the offence of which the offender had been convicted, there is substantial risk that the offender will reoffend, and there is a reasonable possibility of eventual control of the risk in the community.

The Board may establish conditions for the long-term supervision of an offender that are considered reasonable and necessary in order to protect society and to facilitate the successful reintegration of the offender into society. A long-term supervision order, unlike other forms of conditional release, cannot be revoked by the Board. However, the Board can recommend that charges be laid under the Criminal Code if the offender has demonstrated by his/her behaviour that he/she presents a substantial risk to the community because of a failure to comply with one or more conditions.

• On April 7, 2019, 923 offenders had long-term offender designations, which amounts to 3.9% of the total offender population. Of those, 347 offenders with long-term offender designations were still incarcerated; 87 were on statutory release and two were on day parole prior to the commencement of their LTSOs; 479 were in the community under long-term supervision orders and eight had been deported upon their release on LTS.

Since 2000, when the first offender was released on a long-term supervision order, the long-term population in the community has been for the most part constantly increasing. In 2018-19, the long-term population in the community dropped by eight to reach 487 compared to the previous year. Forty-two (42) offenders were released at warrant expiry on long‑term supervision orders in 2018-19 and 26 were released on long‑term supervision orders after reaching warrant expiry on conditional release.

• In 2018-19, the long-term supervision population increased in the Quebec (+2) and Ontario (+2) regions, decreased in the Atlantic (-4) and Pacific (-8) regions and remained the same in the Prairie region.
• On April 7, 2019, 62% of federal offenders on long-term supervision were those sentenced for sexual offences, 37% were those sentenced for violent offences and 2% were those sentenced for non‑violent offences.
• Twenty-eight percent (28%) of offenders on LTSO were Indigenous.
• Male offenders represented 97% of the long-term supervision population in 2018-19.
• The Board rendered 614 decisions for offenders on long-term supervision orders in 2018-19, seven more than the previous year.
• Following a policy change in 2016 to increase the maximum period of a residency condition to 365 days, the number of post-release residency conditions imposed and prolonged for offenders with long-term supervision orders decreased in 2016-17 by 43% (from 338 in 2015-16 to 194 in 2016-17). The numbers started stabilizing in 2017-18, reporting a modest increase (from 194 in 2016-17 to 216 in 2017-18). The numbers decreased by 20% in the pre-release category in 2016-17 (from 74 in 2015-16 to 59 in 2016-17) and increased the following year to 70. In 2018-19, the number of post-release residency conditions decreased by 2% to 211 while an increase was reported in the pre-release category (to 72; +3%).

Figure 34. Long-Term Supervision Population

Note: Excluded as of April 7, 2019, were 3 LTSOs who were UAL (Prairie 2, Pacific 1).