OTTAWA – An internal Justice Department report indicates Canadians have little confidence in the courts and the prison system.
The report suggests Canadians see the courts as too slow to deliver justice, and judges as handing out sentences that are too lenient.
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The study, prepared for a policing symposium last month in Ottawa, was obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.
Based on extensive polling, the research concludes the public believes victims are too often ignored in the justice system, and that prisons do a poor job of rehabilitating offenders.
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Author Charlotte Fraser, a Justice Department employee, also notes that Canadians’ generally low levels of confidence in the justice system are similar to those of citizens in other western countries.
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The report says public education should be the favoured approach to correcting misperceptions.
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