A Survey of Community Notifications of Justice-Involved Persons Being Released from Incarceration in Canada

The practice of notifying the public about the release of a justice-involved individual into a community has become fairly common in Canada and other countries. It is assumed that these notifications help the public and increase public safety. Despite this being seen as a common service to the public, what information should be included in a notification is less understood. The present study surveys 177 publicly accessible community notifications across Canada regarding the release of justice-involved individuals from correctional facilities into the community. Notifications were reviewed and coded for the presence of demographic information, risk descriptors, offence and incarceration histories, and treatment and supervision information. The most commonly reported information included some physical descriptors and photos of the released individual, as well as criminal history and risk level. However, treatment history and details about upcoming supervision were less commonly reported. What was reported differed by region (western vs. eastern part of Canada), where the notification was issued, and the source (government and police vs. news media) that issued it. The lack of consistency in these notifications has implications for fairness, reintegration, public confidence in the justice system, and cross-provincial risk management practices.