In conclusion, we share the government's concern for safety and the interests of victims and offenders. We offer our experience of providing protection to show that there are more effective means of deterrence, of ensuring that there are no more victims, and of successfully integrating people into communities.
The potential of circles is not limited to post-sentencing alone but could be introduced at a much earlier stage in the justice system. This may well result in fewer victims and lower social and economic costs for the system.
We believe that judicial discretion is very important, that communities should be afforded more opportunity to handle justice issues rather than less, and that the use of government resources should be directed more toward community-based initiatives than toward expanding our prison capacity.
While we do not support this bill, should it find favour among you, we encourage you to include stronger provisions for reintegration. At the very least, additional support for community-based initiatives like circles of support and accountability, both pre- and post-sentencing, and other programs like it, can mitigate some of the harmful effects of the increased and longer incarceration that would follow from this bill's implementation.
Thank you.