What is special about the Canadian Criminal Justice System?

In recent years, the government has implicitly – and often explicitly – suggested that increasing the use of imprisonment is an effective method of addressing crime in this country.  This view of the relationship of crime rates to punishment rates is a break from Canada’s past.  Previous governments – both Liberal and Conservative – have been much more pessimistic (and realistic) about the beneficial effects of imprisonment.  In addition, I would suggest that the manner in which the current government views offenders constitutes a break with the past.  Previous governments have tended to develop policies based on a simple reality: most people who have committed offences are, or will soon be, living amongst us.  Hence the reintegration of offenders was seen as an important priority. These – and other changes in the manner in which the current government sees crime and punishment – provide a framework for understanding recent changes in the criminal law.

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Criminological Highlights