We have also introduced amendments to Canada's Corrections and Conditional Release Act that will make it easier to keep in prison until end of sentence sex offenders who victimize children. It will also tighten up parole eligibility for repeat offenders and provide for residency conditions at the time of statutory release of offenders. Let me tell you what has been done and what we intend to do. This will help crown attorneys better identify high-risk violent offenders early on, that is at the time of prosecution. The provinces are very supportive of the system and are appointing coordinators to expedite use of the system.
Early indications are that the number of dangerous offender applications is rising.
Another difficult question surrounding high-risk offenders has to do with public disclosure of their release at end of sentence. I know that, as Chiefs of Police , Chief Constables or other members of police management, you are in a difficult position, given the competing demands of privacy and rehabilitation and public safety. The development of strategies to deal with high-risk offenders in the community once they have completed their sentence is by no means an easy task. However, I am of the same opinion as Mr. Gray, who recently told the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police that the police, at the local level, are in the best position to determine what actions can be taken to inform the community in a way consistent with provincial privacy laws. Another bill that was aggressively pursued in Canada has to do with DNA evidence.