I understand that Canada has attracted interest around the world for its pioneering work in risk assessment and risk management. No one can guarantee human behavior with 100 per cent accuracy, but these tools, which also help to assess the types of programming and other assistance offenders need, continue to be refined and improved. Here again, I am sure we have a mutual interest in learning from one another. We will continue to work with our criminal justice partners to build on improvements that have been made to date. It is often said that effective corrections does not end at the prison gate.
Programs are often more effective when delivered in the community as compared to a prison setting.
It also speaks to the need to develop effective alternatives to incarceration for offenders. This could mean having an offender do community service work, it could mean paying restitution to the victim or more time spent in the community for an offender to hold down a job or go to school. If we are to be successful in our efforts to rely less on incarceration as a response to crime, we must look seriously at the alternatives. Polls indicate that Canadians are very receptive to alternatives, with 85 per cent supporting alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent crimes. This support is broadly-based across various age groups and regions.