Note
Issued also in French under the title: Les engagements à ne pas troubler l'ordre public et la violence contre les femmes : une étude de site des effets du projet de loi C-42 sur la procédure, la demande et l'exécution : rapport final.
"November 2002".
Summary
"The purpose of this final report is to assess whether the Bill C-42 amendments (February 15th, 1995) have had an impact on the application and enforcement of Criminal Code section 810 (and 811) recognizances (otherwise known as ‘peace bonds’). It was decided that the project should analyse both statistics at the national level as well as examine three specific sites in more detail. Due to geographic and logistical reasons Halifax, Hamilton and Winnipeg were chosen. Without question, the major hurdle for battered women who wish to obtain a peace bond appeared to be operational rather than a problem that could have been ameliorated by amendments to the Criminal Code. In all three jurisdictions, obtaining a peace bond by direct application to a J.P. (Justice of the Peace) was reportedly a time-consuming problem wrought with delays, making section 810 recognizances a poor choice for battered women. It cannot be over-stated that in cases of domestic violence, section 810 peace bond applications have been made uncommon by provincial protection order legislation in Manitoba. Generally speaking, in the three jurisdictions where more detailed information was sought, most reported that the amendments to sections 810 and 811 had no discernable effect on the use of peace bonds in cases of domestic violence."--Pages 2-3.
Contents
1. Highlights -- 2. Executive summary -- 3. Purpose -- 4. Background -- 5. Methods and success measures -- 5.1. Adult Criminal Court survey data -- 5.2. Police Data -- 5.3. Interviews -- 6. Limitations -- 7. National peace bond trends -- 7.1. Issuances -- 7.2. Breaches -- 8. Halifax -- 8.1. Context, processing and enforcement -- 8.2. Respondent characteristics -- 8.3. Conditions -- 8.4. Breach rates -- 8.5. Sentencing -- 9. Hamilton -- 9.1. Context, processing and enforcement -- 9.2. Respondent characteristics -- 9.3. Conditions -- 9.4. Breach rates -- 9.5. Sentencing -- 10. Winnipeg -- 10.1. Context, processing and enforcement -- 10.2. Respondent characteristics -- 10.3. Conditions -- 10.4. Breach rates -- 10.5. Sentencing --11. Overall findings -- 11.1. Peace bonds and violence in the home -- 11.2. The effect of provincial domestic violence legislation -- 11.3. Efficacy of Bill C-42 -- 11.4. Enforcement issues -- 11.5. Tracking issues -- Appendix A. IInterview questions -- Appendix B. ACCS data.