A recent escalation of public disorder on city streets in Alberta put public safety in the limelight just before the start of the Alberta election period.
And on Tuesday, the United Conservative Party promised to put more ankle bracelets on people who seek bail as part of its public safety plan.
“This plan will crack down on criminals with ankle bracelet monitoring of dangerous offenders out on bail and deploying sheriffs to monitor them,” UCP Leader Danielle Smith said Tuesday.
“To better monitor violent or sexual offenders out on bail, a re-elected UCP government will provide ankle bracelets.”
But can a democratically-elected government impose bail conditions? Let’s look into it.
“Bail is governed under Section 512 of the Criminal Code of Canada and it is a principle in law that bail conditions are the purview of the court — not a government and certainly not a politician,” Mount Royal University criminology professor Doug King said.
“So it’s uncertain to me as to how the government would bring that about.”
Judges already have the option to impose electronic monitoring — ankle bracelets — as part of release conditions, along with house arrest/curfew restrictions, contact restrictions and weapons bans.
The UCP promise includes a “24/7 electronic monitoring program” staffed by Alberta Sheriffs and “providing further options for courts to impose electronic monitoring as a condition of bail.”
A question of Charter rights
Criminal defence lawyer Tom Engel said any political party or government cannot mandate the use of GPS ankle bracelets.
“They’d be interfering with judicial discretion,” Engel said.
King noted that Canada’s justice system is based on the presumption of innocence of a particular crime until they are convicted of that crime, which usually comes after the bail process.
“We are commanded by the (Canadian) Charter of Rights and Freedoms to assume that an individual is innocent regardless of their criminal past, they’re innocent of the offence that they have been charged with before a court of law,” the MRU criminologist said.
“Too onerous of conditions placed on someone but could result in a Charter challenge under Section 7 of the Charter (the right to life, liberty and security) and under Section 11, which (includes protections from) arbitrary detention,” King said. Section 11 also enshrines the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The Edmonton-based criminal defence lawyer said it’s not uncommon for the accused to propose the use of an ankle bracelet.
“If there’s a concern about complying with the conditions of release, quite often the accused will suggest that (an ankle bracelet) would be a good measure to give the judge confidence in releasing the person,” Engel said. “But it’s got nothing to do with the UCP or the provincial government.”
‘Not a leash’
Engel said currently the ankle bracelets are provided and monitored by private companies, who call police if the monitored individual leaves the judge-prescribed area.
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King said the monitoring device itself isn’t a restriction.
“It’s not a leash. The leash will be the other conditions that will have to be applied by a judge,” King said.
On March 16, the Calgary Police Service issued a warrant for the arrest of a man who they believed had removed his ankle bracelet.
Smith said her party’s proposal would have “more eyes” on people on bail conditions that include electronic monitoring.
“The ankle bracelet monitoring is going to be very important,” she said.
“The main difference that we’re going to see is that if the federal government does not address the issue of the ‘catch-and-release,’ we know we have to step in. That’s why we will be using the ankle bracelets in order to be able to monitor.”
Further clarification from the party only said it would enact the program “no matter what,” regardless of the bail reform work currently being done by the federal government in consultation with provincial justice ministers.
King said given the pace of that work, he expects federal bail reform to be passed within the calendar year.
A blast from the past
Alberta NDP candidate for Calgary-Mountain View and former justice minister Kathleen Ganley said the government looked at possible increased uses of ankle bracelets during her tenure as attorney general. She said the hope at the time rested in the advances in tracking technology — advances that her party could take into consideration if they form government.
Ganley instead pointed to “demonstrated strategies” to reduce recidivism, including training with correctional officers and implementation of other programs and management tools.
“I think the evidence at the time was that those things were much more cost effective and much more effective in terms of preventing recidivism, re-offending, whether when out on bail or whether, you know, after release,” she said Wednesday at an unrelated press conference.
“They tried this in the U.K., they’ve tried this in several other places, and it hasn’t been particularly effective. It has cost an enormous amount of money and it hasn’t increased public safety at all.”
King also recalled when the Alberta government issued ankle bracelets to individuals convicted of domestic violence, starting in 2010.
“Then it was cancelled under the Kenney government… in 2019. And Minister (Doug) Schweitzer at the time was really quite vague as to why it was cancelled,” he said.
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