Category «Latest News»

Faculty Cancels Internships with Ottawa Police, RCMP, Correctional Service Canada and the Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre

Carleton University’s Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice (ICCJ) is ending all student internships with police forces and prisons for the 2021/2022 academic school year. The University’s Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice, says the department is cutting ties with the Ottawa Police Service because the organization has done too little to address systemic racism. Typically, …

The Use of Unmanned Aerial Systems in Law Enforcement

Many Canadian Police Services have identified the need for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), otherwise known as drones, to assist in responding to calls for service for serious and fatal traffic collisions, missing persons, and other operational requirements. The use of UAS technology continues to be a forward trend in policing. Several police services across Canada …

Federal Government Gives up Fight Against 15 Day Hard Cap on Solitary Confinement. Now What?

Author: Nicole Porter, N.A. PORTER & ASSOCIATES For those of you who aren’t familiar with corrections, solitary confinement is defined as a form of imprisonment distinguished by segregation. It involves living in single cells with little or no meaningful contact to other inmates, strict measures to control contraband, and the use of additional security measures and …

Proposals to help curb reoffending in South Africa’s Prisons

Innovation and creative thinking have always been paradigms in Criminology. We know this is a welcome shift from the largely punitive mindset in the world of corrections across the world. This is particularly important in South Africa which has, as we know, one of the highest rates of recidivism in the world – as high as …

Expert Witness Codes of Conduct for Forensic Practitioners

March 31, 2020 – A Review and Proposal for Reform In response to many miscarriages of justice attributed to forensic science, stakeholders in the justice system have proposed several reforms. One such reform is the broader use of expert witness codes of conduct to control the way in which forensic scientific evidence is reported in …

Victim or Villain: A Review of Wrongful Convictions in Canada

Author: Nicole Porter, N.A. PORTER & ASSOCIATES It is beyond unfortunate that wrongful convictions are still happening across the country and throughout the world. The unearthing of wrongly convicted offenders has been arguably (and understandably) the dominant legal development in our country, over the past half-century. A nationwide network of industry experts, including academics, lawyers, …

The Need for Independent Review Commission for Wrongful Convictions in Canada

November 18, 2020 | Latest News Author: Nicole Porter, N.A. PORTER & ASSOCIATES Innocence Canada co-chair, Ron Dalton knows all too well the impact of going to prison for a crime you didn’t commit. He was wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and would spend approximately eight years behind bars before finally being cleared after …

Federal Mandates Regarding Justice for the Wrongfully Convicted

If you are unfamiliar with Minister Lametti and Prime Minister Trudeau’s mandate regarding justice for the wrongfully convicted, you can find it here. An independent review commission will essentially become an important pillar in our criminal justice system. Access the mandate below: https://pm.gc.ca/en/mandate-letters/2019/12/13/minister-justice-and-attorney-general-canada-mandate-letter

Interpol Releases Guidelines for Law Enforcement during Covid-19 Pandemic

November 17, 2020 | NEWS RELEASE Since the outbreak of COVID-19, law enforcement has played a crucial role in supporting efforts to control the disease as well as combating criminal activities linked to the pandemic. These updated INTERPOL guidelines draw on the lessons learned and best practices developed around the world to help police identify …

Psychopathic Predators? Relation Between Psychopathy and Violence

Author: Nicole Porter, N.A. PORTER AND ASSOCIATES The Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (PCL–R; Hare, 1991, 2003) is often used to assess risk of violence, perhaps based on the assumption that it captures individuals who both emotionally detached and who are driven to prey upon others. Psychopathy is a condition primarily characterized by the absence of empathy. Experts will agree that …