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Home   Programs Corrections Protection against high-risk offenders Dangerous offender designation
The Dangerous Offender provisions of the Criminal Code are intended to protect all Canadians from the most dangerous violent and sexual predators in the country. Individuals convicted of these offences can be designated as a Dangerous Offender during sentencing if it is shown that there is a significantly high risk that they will commit future violent or sexual offences. The objective of protecting innocent Canadians from future harm can and will ensure in such cases that the offender will remain in prison indefinitely until that risk no longer exists. If the court finds an offender to be a dangerous offender, it shall impose a sentence of detention in a penitentiary for an indeterminate period.
History of the legislation The Dangerous Offender designation began in 1947 with legislation creating the “Habitual Offender” designation. It was based on similar British provisions introduced in 1904 targeting “persistent dangerous criminals engaged in the more serious forms of crime". The Canadian version went significantly further than its British counterpart in that it allowed discretion for the courts to impose either a determinate or an indeterminate sentence. The prerequisite for such a designation was that the offender had to have been convicted of three or more indictable offences and could be shown to be “persistently leading a criminal life”. The provisions were amended a number of times, but the next major re-drafting occurred in August 1997 with the passage of C-55, and are still in place today: - Amended the "dangerous offender" (DO) designation to streamline the procedure, making it more efficient;
- Created the new designation of "Long Term Offender" and a new "long-term supervision order" that begins upon the completion of the custodial sentence and can be up to 10 years in length. It provides a complementary option to the DO designation and focuses on offenders not captured by the DO provisions, but who still present a substantial risk to re-offend;
- Enacted section 810.2 recognizance orders for individuals who present a danger of committing a "serious personal injury" offence; and
- Changed the initial parole review for a DO to seven years from the previous three years, and every two years thereafter.
Dangerous offender provision The Dangerous Offender provision is contained in Section 753 of the Criminal Code of Canada: 753. (1) The court may, on application made under this Part following the filing of an assessment report under subsection 752.1(2), find the offender to be a dangerous offender if it is satisfied - that the offence for which the offender has been convicted is a serious personal injury offence described in paragraph (a) of the definition of that expression in section 752 and the offender constitutes a threat to the life, safety or physical or mental well-being of other persons on the basis of evidence establishing
- a pattern of repetitive behaviour by the offender, of which the offence for which he or she has been convicted forms a part, showing a failure to restrain his or her behaviour and a likelihood of causing death or injury to other persons, or inflicting severe psychological damage on other persons, through failure in the future to restrain his or her behaviour,
- a pattern of persistent aggressive behaviour by the offender, of which the offence for which he or she has been convicted forms a part, showing a substantial degree of indifference on the part of the offender respecting the reasonably foreseeable consequences to other persons of his or her behaviour, or
- any behaviour by the offender, associated with the offence for which he or she has been convicted, that is of such a brutal nature as to compel the conclusion that the offender's behaviour in the future is unlikely to be inhibited by normal standards of behavioural restraint; or
- that the offence for which the offender has been convicted is a serious personal injury offence described in paragraph (b) of the definition of that expression in section 752 and the offender, by his or her conduct in any sexual matter including that involved in the commission of the offence for which he or she has been convicted, has shown a failure to control his or her sexual impulses and a likelihood of causing injury, pain or other evil to other persons through failure in the future to control his or her sexual impulses.
(4) If the court finds an offender to be a dangerous offender, it shall impose a sentence of detention in a penitentiary for an indeterminate period.
Application and designation Under the Dangerous Offender -- Long-Term Offender provisions, the Crown may initiate an application where the offender is convicted of a “serious personal injury offence”. This prerequisite is defined in s.752(b) as being a specific sexual assault offence (s.271, 272 or 273), or, alternatively, as meeting the criteria in s.752(a), which requires a finding that the particular offence was essentially violent or potentially violent and carries a potential maximum sentence of at least 10 years or more. It is the initial responsibility of the provincial (or, in the territories, the federal) Crown prosecutor in each case to make the decision whether or not to seek a Dangerous Offender application. If the Crown believes the offender justifies such an application, the first step is to apply for a 60 day psychiatric assessment under s.752.1. Once the report of the assessor is returned to the court, the Crown uses the information to determine whether the application should proceed. If there is merit, the Crown must gain the written approval of the provincial Attorney General or, for applications within the territories, the federal Minister of Justice before proceeding with the application. The inquiry by the court focuses on the issue of public protection, and whether or not the risk the offender poses to the general public is severe enough to merit an indeterminate sentence, with no opportunity for parole for seven years. It is the toughest sentence available under the Criminal Code. As of July 2006, there were 351 active offenders with the Dangerous Offender designation. Of these offenders, 18 have received parole and 333 are currently incarcerated.
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