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Peace Bonds and Violence
Against Women:
A Three-site
Study of the Effect of Bill C-42
on Process, Application and
Enforcement
George S. Rigakos, Ph.D.
Research and Statistics Division
November 2002
The present study was funded by the Research and
Statistics Division, Department of Justice Canada.
The views expressed in this report are those of the
authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of
the Department of Justice Canada.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this final report is to assess whether the Bill C-42 amendments (February
15th, 1995) have had an impact on the application and enforcement of Criminal Code
section 810 (and 811) recognizances (otherwise known as 'peace bonds'). It was decided
that the project should analyse both statistics at the national level as well as examine
three specific sites in more detail. Due to geographic and logistical reasons Halifax,
Hamilton and Winnipeg were chosen.
The primary statistical source for national peace bond trends is the Adult Criminal Court
Survey (ACCS) produced by Statistics Canada's CCJS (Canadian Centre for Justice
Statistics). Other sources in this report include Hamilton Regional Police statistics
provided by their Family Violence Resource Unit as well as police databases in Winnipeg
and Halifax. In the case of Winnipeg, we also relied on the Winnipeg Family Violence
Court Database managed by Dr. Jane Ursel at the University of Manitoba.
A total of 26 key informant interviews were conducted for this report. Interviews were
conducted, by telephone, with eight participants in Ontario, eleven in Nova Scotia and
seven in Manitoba. Interviewees included judges, lawyers, police officers, shelter
workers, and justices of the peace. More individuals were originally contacted but some
potential informants were screened out because of their lack of contact with Criminal
Code peace bonds, thus leaving a sample size of 26.
According to ACCS data, the Canadian national peace bond issuance rate per 100,000
population climbed consistently each sample year since 1994/95. The largest recorded
increases in the national peace bond issuance rate took place from sample years 1994/95
to 1995/96 (+22.9%), immediately following the passage of Bill C-42. From 1994/95 to
1999/00, the peace bond issuance rate per 100,000 population rose from 29.6 to 45.9, an
increase of 55 per cent. Since the passage of amendments to Criminal Code peace bonds,
there appears to be no discernable change in the national breach rate as calculated by
comparing the total number of section 811 convictions to the total number of section 810
issuances. From 1994/95, ACCS data suggest that the annual national court disposition
breach rate has remained relatively stable at around five per cent; from a repeated high of
5.1 per cent in 1994/95, 1998/99, and 1999/00, to a low of 4.5 per cent in 1995/96.
In the province of Nova Scotia, peace bonds are still used in cases of domestic violence,
but according to all of the informants, this is becoming an increasingly rare occurrence
due to changing enforcement policies. As in Nova Scotia, most Ontario police services,
including Hamilton, have adopted a pro-arrest and charge policy in cases of spousal or
partner violence. This policy relegates peace bonds to a 'last resort' tool that often
signifies a criminal justice system failure (i.e., inability to lay a criminal charge) rather
than a success. Zero tolerance towards violence against women in the home in Manitoba
has resulted in a decreased use of peace bonds in cases of domestic violence. Current
policy dictates that the police should arrest or lay charges for assault where reasonable
and probable grounds exist.
Based on the Halifax police information systems listing of 'private recognizances'
(N=233), seventy-six per cent of persons against whom a peace bond was issued from
1998 to 2001 (to date of survey) were identified as men. Another 18.5 per cent were
identified as women. Gender could not be determined for 4.8 per cent of peace bond
respondents. The average age of persons issued peace bonds in Halifax is 34.6 years
(n=222). The average duration of peace bonds issued was 11.1 months and the median
length was 12 months (n=228). Hamilton police data on peace bond dispositions from
1997-2000 seem to support the observations of informants who point to the heavy use of
common law peace bonds. Utilising WFVC (Winnipeg Family Violence Court) data
cross-referenced with police records for 1993-1997, we find that the average peace bond
respondent in Winnipeg is 32.5 years old (n=340). Seventy-one per cent of respondents
are male and 23 per cent are female (n=340), although we could not discern gender for
5.6 per cent of the names in the data set. The average duration of a peace bond issuance
in Winnipeg between 1993-1997 was 11.7 months (n=340). Forty-six per cent of persons
issued peace bonds in the WFVC had previous records, averaging 6.8 offences (n=157)
before the issuance of a section 810 recognizance.
In tracking those issued peace bonds in the Halifax police information system and onto
the RCMP's Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) criminal record history
database, we found that 8.2 per cent of respondents committed an offence while under
conditions of a peace bond, and another 8.2 per cent thereafter. In the particular case of
domestic violence, the breach rate was 7.1 per cent during and 10.7 per cent after its term
of effect. Of those persons issued peace bonds in cases of domestic violence in Winnipeg
between 1993-1997, ten per cent (n=34) committed an offence while under conditions of
the section 810 recognizance. Another 27.9 per cent (n=95) committed an offence after
the peace bond had lapsed. In Winnipeg, male respondents had a higher likelihood of reoffending
than female respondents both during (12.1% vs. 5.1%) and after the peace bond
(33.5% vs. 12.7%).
In Nova Scotia, almost all key informants who had an opinion believed that sentences for
breaching an order were weak and that changes to the maximum as per Bill C-42
amendments were ineffectual. Justice personnel in Hamilton report that they have not
seen any significant change in sentencing practices since Bill C-42 was enacted. Similar
sentiments were expressed in Winnipeg.
Without question, the major hurdle for battered women who wish to obtain a peace bond
appeared to be operational rather than a problem that could have been ameliorated by
amendments to the Criminal Code. In all three jurisdictions, obtaining a peace bond by
direct application to a J.P. (Justice of the Peace) was reportedly a time-consuming
problem wrought with delays, making section 810 recognizances a poor choice for
battered women. It cannot be over-stated that in cases of domestic violence, section 810
peace bond applications have been made uncommon by provincial protection order
legislation in Manitoba. Generally speaking, in the three jurisdictions where more
detailed information was sought, most reported that the amendments to sections 810 and
811 had no discernable effect on the use of peace bonds in cases of domestic violence.
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