What happens if you are charged with an offence

This sum may go reduce related civil claims initiated by those harmed persons. The waiting period for a Record Suspension is ordinarily 5 years in the context of a summary conviction offence and 10 years in the context of an indictable offence. If one can argue for a fine instead of a suspended sentence, that person may apply sooner for the Record Suspension.

Where a person is found guilty of an offence and the Court directs a disposition of either a conditional discharge or a suspended sentence, the Court will impose a period of probation for a period up to three years in duration. During this period, the Court will impose various conditions.

For example, if there is an alcohol or drug component to an offence, an individual will often be ordered to attend counseling related to abuse of that substance.

Compliance with these obligations is monitored by a Probation Officer. In all circumstances, the party subject to the probation order must keep the peace and be of good behaviour.

It is important to keep in mind that a Probation Order is an Order of the Court and breach of that order represent a criminal offence. An historic violation of court orders is always considered in sentencing and bail hearings to great negative effect.

In the most serious of circumstances, a person convicted may have to serve a period of incarceration. A person who receives a custodial sentence of two years or more is placed in the federal penitentiary, where as an individual who receives a sentence of less than two years is placed in the provincial facility. Following a conviction for a crime in Canada, it is possible to receive either a provincial or federal sentence.

You may be convicted of a Criminal offence under either federal or provincial legislation. The province you are located in and the type of sentence you receive will determine which administrative bodies and what legislation will govern the framework of your sentence and its enforcement. If the sentence involves incarceration and is a federal sentence then the Parole Board of Canada oversees decisions regarding parole and leave from custody created under the Corrections and Conditional Release Act.

This body is also entrusted with administration of the Criminal Records Act which deals with all criminal record suspensions. If you are serving a custodial federal sentence it would be served in a federal penitentiary and the governing legislation would be the Corrections and Conditional Release Act.

Otherwise, you would be serving your custodial sentence in a provincial correctional facility. With respect to a federal sentence, an inmate may be eligible for day parole as soon as one sixth of the way through their sentence, depending on its length.

They may eligible for full parole after serving one third of their sentence as long as there is no minimum. Full parole is mandatory after two thirds of the sentence is served although this may be denied on the recommendations of the Correction Service of Canada in certain circumstance. In the provincial system, an individual is eligible for parole after one third of their sentence. Parole is mandatory after two thirds of the sentence have been served. The decision to grant or deny parole involves a thorough review of information and assessment of risk.

The safety of the public is always the paramount consideration in all parole decisions. Day Parole allows an offender to participate in community-based activities in preparation for full parole or statutory release. Full parole allows an offender to serve part of their sentence in the community under supervision and specific conditions, in preparation for their eventual release into the community. Where a court is of the view that the custodial sentence to be imposed in a particular case is in the reformatory range less than two years and where the offence itself attracts no minimum sentence in law, the court may order that the custodial sentence be served in the community.

The court must be satisfied that there is no significant risk or danger to the community before this sentence is offered. If a person has a negative history in relation to court orders, probation or bail, or if the person has a significant recidivist criminal history, it is unlikely that a conditional sentence will be ordered.

Queensland Police Service Headquarters investigates complaints about police misconduct and breaches of discipline. The internal complaints process is monitored by the Crime and Corruption Commission. Crime and Corruption Commission investigates complaints about official misconduct, even where the original complaint has been made to Queensland Police. The organisation monitors the police internal complaints process and can take over investigations if necessary, but does not handle complaints about police misconduct directly.

Queensland Courts provides information about the:. Main Content Anchor Being charged with an offence.

There are 4 ways you can be charged with an offence and made to go to court: the police could arrest you , and keep you in custody until they can take you to court you could be given a Notice to appear which is similar to a summons you could be given a Complaint and summons to appear in court if you decide to oppose an infringement notice eg attend court instead of paying a fine. To help us improve GOV. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. Cookies on GOV. UK We use some essential cookies to make this website work.

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