I want it to be clear that we are not against conditional sentences. We are only seeking to limit their usage. We want to ensure that they are not available to the perpetrators of certain crimes. The crimes to which I refer are serious in nature, and issuing conditional sentences trivializes them. That is the clarification that we are seeking to make.
Secondly, you spoke about supervision, which is another important point. The annual budget allocated for supervising an offender in the community is $1,792. With that amount, officers are not visiting offenders on a regular basis. The supervision consists of making telephone calls. But with today's technology, it is tough to pinpoint where people are. I could be in another country and have my calls forwarded to me. That is what is happening.
Lastly, I appreciate the commendable work that Mr. Elliott and his group carry out. It goes without saying that the problem of this incurable and rapidly spreading disease must be taken into consideration. However, another avenue is open to us. We are working with the government to develop a national anti-drug strategy based on education, prevention and helping those wrestling with drug addiction. We are focusing our attention on this scourge.
However, if we merely provide syringes so that they can simply go and shoot up in [Editor's Note: Inaudible], then we are only exploring one option, at the expense of education, prevention and treatment. We believe that, by working together with the government, we will be able to develop a national anti-drug strategy to help prevent people from veering down the road of drug use.