When the B.C. Parole Board was created in
1980, the Branch agreed to discontinue use of
back-to-back temporary absences. It
subsequently reinstated them to address
institutional overcrowding and support the
EMP program. The Parole Board (which
released offenders on parole) and Corrections
Branch authorities (who released offenders on
temporary absence) were in direct competition
for clientele.

Pilot projects were launched during the 1990s
that attempted to co-ordinate the release of
inmates from provincial institutions with the
Parole Board’s authority for release. These
pilots were intended to increase offenders
under community supervision and reintegrate
higher risk offenders through enhanced
supervision and programming,

This division of release authority was not borne
out in practice. One problem was that the
process was confusing to inmates. According to
Irene Heese, then Chair of the Parole Board,
inmates were unclear about whether to be
released on a temporary absence through EMP
or parole. Experienced inmates “shopped” for
their best release option.

It was more expedient for the Corrections
Branch to release offenders on EMP because

less preparation was required. Parole involved a
more intensive community release plan. In
some cases, the Parole Board determined that
when offenders presented themselves, their
cases were not properly prepared for release.

Because the Parole Board is bound by law to
have certain information and records for review
at a hearing, it was not able to hear a case if
records were incomplete. Some offenders were
also placed on EMP just prior to their parole
heating. Many low-risk cases that would have
been good candidates for parole were
consequently released to EMP.

By April 1994, EMP as a condition of full
parole was approved for all regions. The
Branch subsequently decided that EMP should
also be used for day parole. This allowed the
offender to be confined at home rather than
sleep in a community-based residential centre.

As of 2001, the Parole Board retained access to
the electronic monitoring technology that
commenced in 1987. Once the Parole Board
became the primary releasing authority, the
problem of integrating the Parole Board and
Corrections Branch as the two releasing
authorities was finally resolved.

on EMP was also quicker.

EMP versus parole: An offender’s perspective

For offenders, it was not difficult to choose between EMP and parole. After serving
two-thirds of their sentence on EMP, an offender could be released on good behaviour
because EMP was considered a jail sentence. With the alternative—parole—the entire

sentence had to be served under supervision in the community, The process of getting out

The Era of Risk Management (1990-1997)

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