Long-Term and Dangerous Offender Designation

From Criminal Law Notebook
Revision as of 18:03, 1 February 2022 by Admin (talk | contribs) (→‎Topics)

Introduction

See also: List of Dangerous Offender Designated Offences

Part XXIV of the Code, between s. 752 and 761, creates a regime to designate certain offenders as either "long-term offenders" (LTO) or "dangerous offenders" (DO). These offenders will be subject to either a long-term offender supervision order, in the case of an LTO, or an order of indeterminate detention, in the case of the DO.

A DO order is a "preventative sentence ... in its clearest and most extreme form".[1]

Purpose

The Purpose of DO orders is not punitive and not rehabilitative. It is first and foremost for the purpose of segregating the offender from society.[2] It applies to those offenders where segregation is a "rational means" of achieving public safety.[3]

  1. R v Boutilier, 2017 SCC 64 (CanLII), [2017] 2 SCR 936, per Côté J, at para 33
    R v Sipos, 2014 SCC 47 (CanLII), [2014] 2 SCR 423, per Cromwell J, at para 19
  2. Boutilier, supra, at para hpg4c
  3. Boutilier, supra, at para hpg4c

History

The provisions of the Criminal Code regarding indefinite detention arose from the 1938 Archambault Report that recommended implementing a regime that separated dangerous offenders from society. In 1947 the first amendments were made creating an indefinite detention order for "habitual criminals".[1]

The first amendment to the Criminal Code introducing the dangerous offender regime was in 1977.[2] It was later amended in 1997 and the in 2008 with the Tackling Violent Crime Act (SC 2008, c. 6).[3]

  1. R v Ipeelee, 2012 SCC 13 (CanLII), [2012] 1 SCR 433, per LeBel J, at paras 40 to 45
  2. R v Boutilier, 2016 BCCA 235 (CanLII), 336 CCC (3d) 293, per D Smith JA, at para 24
  3. Boutilier, ibid., at para 23
    see List of Criminal Code Amendments

Topics

LTO
DO

Digests