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Wednesday, November 14, 2012

What is Conditional Supervision? What Happens if you Breach it?


Section 105 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act outlines the terms of conditional supervision.  Conditional supervision occurs when a young person has been sentenced for a particular offence and serves their sentence in the community, instead of in custody. 

Conditional supervision can also occur when a young person has completed part of their sentence in custody and after release must satisfy the rest of their sentence in the community. 

According to section 105, these conditions require that the young person
(a) keep the peace and be of good behaviour;
                        (b) appear before the youth justice court when required by the court to do so;
                        (c) report to the provincial director (ie "probation") immediately on release, and then be under the supervision of the provincial director or a person designated by the youth justice court;
                        (d) inform the provincial director immediately on being arrested or questioned by the police;
                        (e) report to the police, or any named individual, as instructed by the provincial director;
                        (f) advise the provincial director of the young person’s address of residence on release and after release report immediately to the clerk of the youth justice court or the provincial director any change
                                    (i) in that address,
                                    (ii) in the young person’s normal occupation, including employment, vocational or educational training and volunteer work,
                                    (iii) in the young person’s family or financial situation, and
                                    (iv) that may reasonably be expected to affect the young person’s ability to comply with the conditions of the order;
                        (g) not own, possess or have the control of any weapon, ammunition, prohibited ammunition, prohibited device or explosive substance, except as authorized by the order; and
                        (h) comply with any reasonable instructions that the provincial director considers necessary in respect of any condition of the conditional supervision in order to prevent a breach of that condition or to protect society. (YCJA)

Additional conditions may be set at the discretion of the Provincial Director who may take into account the young offender’s residence, employment, etc.

If a youth breaches one of these conditions, there are some possible consequences. These consequences are outlined in section 106 and section 107 of the Youth Criminal Justice Act.

1.     Suspension of the conditional supervision.
2.     A warrant may be issued for the young person’s arrest and apprehension.
3.     The young person can be required to go (back) to a youth custody facility.
4.     Additional conditions may be placed on the young person before they are released back into the community

In the worst case, a breach of a condition may mean returning to custody and/or adding time to a sentence.  Additionally, a breach of conditional supervision can mean that the youth is charged with another offence. 

If you have specific legal questions relating to your situation, please contact JFCY at 416.920.1633

This blogpost was written by Marsha Rampersaud, a JFCY volunteer on the PLE team . All info was reviewed by a JFCY staff lawyer. 


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