Direct supervision is part of a long tradition. Community organizations have been involved in the supervision of offenders in the community for a long time. The Correctional Service of Canada must rely on community partners to ensure community safety and social reintegration.
Direct supervision has several advantages. For example, it may prevent certain administrative tasks from being duplicated. It may also prevent certain types of antagonistic behaviour on the part of the offender. Some offenders, particularly those who are antisocial, may feel very resentful towards the CSC staff. When these offenders are supervised by non-CSC staff, they're less adversarial. Certain types of antagonistic behaviour are prevented. Direct supervision also allows for a variety of approaches, which may be necessary to ensure the social reintegration of individuals. There's no uniform approach that works for all individuals. There's a need to adapt.
I find it unfortunate that the CSC decided to go one step further than the board of investigation's recommendations. We had already started to review several components of the board of investigation's report, including the clarification of the roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders. Obviously, we didn't wait for this investigation report to take concrete action in the field. When this type of incident occurs, all stakeholders, clinical counsellors, halfway houses and parole officers reassess their practices. During meetings with the CSC in the spring and summer, we clarified these roles and responsibilities. I find it unfortunate that the CSC's national headquarters didn't take this work into account.