CROWN COUNSEL ACROSS CANADA ISSUE CALL FOR A NATIONAL ONLINE INFORMATION SYSTEM, TO CENTRALIZE AND MAKE AVAILABLE DATA ON ALL ACCUSED PERSONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY

• Canada requires a national online criminal justice information system that contains data on all accused persons across Canada.
  
  
• It is time the information systems Canadian prosecutors use be modernized and nationalized to meet twenty-first century crime.
  
  
• The Canadian Association of Crown Counsel (CACC) calls on the Minister of Justice and his provincial counterparts to build a national online criminal justice information system, and to do so with dispatch.

TORONTO, June 7, 2023 /CNW/ - With governments calling for revisions to Canada's bail system, and concerns over public safety due to random violence and other crimes, The Canadian Association of Crown Counsel (CACC) says Crown prosecutors are unable to access data on all accused persons across Canada. This is an important failing, as this enables accused offenders to move to a new jurisdiction often without their past records following them.

Canada requires a national online criminal justice information system that contains data on all accused persons across Canada. 

The following communique from the CACC represents all Crown Counsel associations across Canada and is directed at the Minister of Justice and his provincial counterparts, for immediate attention.

COMMUNIQUE

Preamble

The Canadian Association of Crown Counsel (CACC) is the national Association which represents the collective interests of Crown prosecutors and government civil lawyers. It contributes to helping governments and the public understand issues involving government civil lawyers in the civil justice system and Crown prosecutors in the criminal justice system. It also addresses issues concerning their terms of employment and working conditions and promotes and encourages their professional development. Members include representatives of Associations representing Crown prosecutors and government civil lawyers from nine provinces and from the federal government, approximately 8500 lawyers in total. 

Bail

The law of bail and safety of our communities has garnered significant attention from the media. Currently, Canada's prosecution services use a patchwork of provincial criminal justice information systems. These information systems are often old, glitchy, not standardized, and do not share information between provinces. Many accused persons, particularly those who commit serious and sophisticated crime, transcend provincial boundaries. It is time the information systems Canadian prosecutors use be modernized and nationalized to meet twenty-first century crime. 

Recommendation

While the CACC will not comment on laws enacted by our elected representatives, we are committed to advancing a stated Government policy, in this case, public safety. Given that, we are prepared to make the following recommendation to the Minister of Justice and his provincial counterparts.

Canada requires a national online criminal justice information system that contains data on all accused persons across Canada. Such data should be readily accessible by Crown prosecutors and their professional staff from coast to coast, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It should be a reliable repository of information that includes, at a minimum, all court orders, warrants, records of proceedings, criminal records, and prosecutor notes-to-file. The national information system should be user-friendly, integrated, and updated in real time. 

This database will give our Crown prosecutors access to national data that will enable us to make informed decisions; to conduct bail hearings efficiently and effectively; and promote consistency in approach across Canada. This will help keep Canadians safe while safeguarding the constitutional rights of all Canadians.

As representatives of frontline Crown prosecutors, the CACC calls on the Minister of Justice and his provincial counterparts to build a national online criminal justice information system, and to do so with dispatch.

SOURCE The Canadian Association of Crown Counsel

Media contacts: Atlantic Canada, Rick Woodburn, K.C., President, Canadian Association of Crown Counsel (CACC), 902-717-7299, [email protected]; Québec, Guillaume Michaud, President, Association des procureurs aux poursuites criminelles et pénales (APPCP), 514-288-3636, [email protected]; Ontario, Kate Matthews, Vice-President, Canadian Association of Crown Counsel (CACC), 416-816-3989, [email protected]; Manitoba, Erika Dolcetti, President, Manitoba Association of Crown Attorneys (MACA), 204-232-0685, [email protected]; Saskatchewan, Me Kelly Kaip, Past President, Saskatchewan Crown Attorneys Association (SCAA), 306-787-5490, [email protected]; British Columbia, Trevor Pancoust, media contact, BC Crown Counsel Association (BCCCA), 778-386-0843, [email protected]