Q: I read about certain criminals being named dangerous offenders. What does that mean and how does it happen?
A: The term dangerous offender has specific meaning within Canadian law.
The idea is that someone who has been convicted of many serious crimes is demonstrating he cannot be trusted out in society and will almost certainly create mayhem if he mixes with ordinary, law-abiding citizens. For the protection of the public, special offender designations were created.
Most of the special offender status hearings happen after someone is convicted of a string of personal injury offences such as assault, sexual assault, manslaughter or murder. If this person can be shown to have a propensity for violence within our society, he can be named a dangerous offender. If this happens, he can be sentenced to an indeterminate sentence or, in other words, “lock him up and throw away the key.” What this actually means is that such an offender has no chance of parole for at least seven years, and in reality, probably a lot longer than that, if at all.
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These designations do not occur often because Canada is careful about who is locked up for an unspecified time. Saskatchewan has one of the highest per capita rates of these hearings and designations.
The prosecutor has to apply to have the designation made when the person is being sentenced on yet another personal injury offence. Then experts assess the accused person to see if he or she has traits that make them redeemable. If not, they may give an opinion that favours dangerous offender status.
To do this, the court has to be convinced that the person in question is a “threat to the life, safety or physical or mental well-being of other persons.” The court looks for a pattern of dangerous or anti-social behaviour that shows the person cannot restrain himself and inflicts death or harm on other people. The pattern is an important factor.
Much of the controversy in the courtroom arises over whether the person should be named a dangerous offender or a long-term offender. A dangerous offender is as defined above. A long-term offender is someone whose unrestricted presence in the community poses a potential threat to public safety such as repeat sexual offenders and child molesters, or people who possess child pornography. These orders are also dealt with by the court at the time of sentencing but come into effect after the offenders have served their full sentence and would ordinarily be eligible for release. The court imposes a period of supervision for this type of offender after they are back in society.
Certainly this system is not perfect. But it does allow the justice system to treat repeat offenders committing serious crimes differently than other people in the system, including monitoring them after their time in jail is done.
Rick Danyliuk is a practising lawyer in Saskatoon with McDougall Gauley LLP. He also has experience in teaching and writing about legal issues. His columns are intended as general advice only. Individuals are encouraged to seek other opinions and/or personal counsel when dealing with legal matters.
