Under the province's new Justice on Target strategy, Ontario is setting targets to reduce court delays and appearances by 30 per cent over the next four years.
This is the first time the province has set targets to reduce the provincial average of days and court appearances needed to complete a criminal case.
To ensure transparency and accountability, the province is also making available criminal court statistics to the public for the first time. The public will be able to follow the progress of the strategy and see the impact on courthouses in their local communities.
The multidisciplinary Justice on Target implementation team will be led by Regional Senior Justice Bruce Durno and Senior Crown Attorney Kenneth Anthony. The team will work with justice sector partners in local courthouses to develop and implement new initiatives that improve coordination, focus justice resources and move cases through the justice system faster.
The first two initiatives being implemented as part of the Justice on Target strategy are expansions of programs that have proven successful in reducing court appearances and delays.
QUOTES
"Lengthy court delays are unacceptable so Ontario is moving to justice faster," said Attorney General Chris Bentley.
"We're targeting criminal court delays and focusing attention on the most serious cases to increase public safety and confidence in our justice system."
"I am honoured to take on this important role, and look forward to working with all justice partners as we work to build a more effective criminal justice system," said Mr. Justice Durno.
"By reducing the number of non-productive appearances we can better use our resources to advance the public safety and confidence in the criminal justice system," said Kenneth Anthony.
QUICK FACTS
· With 600,000 charges entering the system every year, saving one minute per charge could save seven years of court time.
· In 1992, it took an average of 4.3 court appearances to complete a criminal case. By last year, this figure had more than doubled to 9.2 appearances.
· In 1992, cases were in the system for an average of 115 days. By last year, the number had jumped to 205 days.
· Recent provincial investments in the criminal justice system include:
· Hiring 1,000 additional police officers and more than 220 Crown attorneys
· Appointing 24 additional judges and 45 additional justices of the peace
· Dedicating over $68 million to fight gun crime.
TARGETS
Ontario will achieve faster, focused justice by targeting 30 per cent reductions in the provincial average of days and court appearances needed to complete a criminal case. The province plans to meet its target in four years.
TRANSPARENCY
Ontarians can follow the progress of courts in their local community towards reaching the targets through a transparent new Justice on Target website, which for the first time makes criminal case statistics dating back to 2000 publicly available.
LEADERS
Senior Regional Justice Bruce Durno has been appointed to lead the Justice on Target strategy, and Senior Crown Attorney Kenneth Anthony has been appointed as the ministry's senior lead.
Mr. Justice Durno was appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Justice in 1998, and has served as Regional Senior Justice for the Central West region since 2000. Prior to his appointment to the bench, Mr. Justice Durno was a criminal defence lawyer and served as president of the Criminal Lawyers' Association.
Kenneth Anthony has been a prosecutor with the Ministry of the Attorney General since 1976. In that time, he has served as Crown Attorney in Scarborough and the District of Muskoka. Most recently, Mr. Anthony was a senior legal expert to a ministry team working on measures to increase the effectiveness of the criminal justice system.
Mr. Justice Durno and Mr. Anthony will:
· Oversee an implementation team working on the ground in local courthouses
· Engage the Judiciary, the Criminal Defence bar, Crown prosecutors and the police
· Develop and implement new initiatives to help meet the target
· Report to a results table chaired by Attorney General Chris Bentley.
Mr. Justice Durno, Mr. Anthony and the implementation team will work collaboratively with the partners in Ontario's justice system to get advice and identify further initiatives to help meet the province's target. The team will then put these initiatives into action, measure progress and adjust course as necessary.
Two successful initiatives are being expanded to help meet the province's target: Dedicated Prosecution and On-Site Legal Aid.
DEDICATED PROSECUTION
Dedicated Prosecution is an innovative system that changes the way cases are managed by Crown prosecutors. It allows them to continually monitor the progress of their cases and make appropriate decisions earlier in the court process. This helps reduce the time needed to resolve a case, and allows more cases to move through the system faster and more effectively.
Under Dedicated Prosecution, small tight-knit teams of Crown prosecutors and support staff are given ownership of cases from the beginning of the court process until the case is resolved, or until it proceeds to trial. Traditionally, several Crown attorneys could deal separately with a criminal case before it is resolved. Each one would need to be familiar with the case file, the accused and their counsel, increasing the time it takes to resolve the case.
As part of the Justice on Target strategy, the province aims to have Dedicated Prosecution operating in all 17 high volume court locations in the province by the end of the year.
ON-SITE LEGAL AID
Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) currently accepts on-site applications in nine Ontario courthouses. To help meet its target, the province will work with LAO to place legal aid application offices in an additional 17 criminal court locations in Ontario in the coming months. Once open, on-site legal aid offices will be operating in 26 courthouses serving almost 80 per cent of criminal legal aid clients province-wide.
In these locations, an accused person can apply for legal aid on-site and, if successful, could retain a lawyer more quickly. Getting a lawyer on the case faster can help reduce the number of appearances needed to resolve a case, and allow more cases to move through the system more effectively.
LAO is also innovating a simplified online application process. LAO staff will be able to help a client apply for a legal aid certificate online and if approved, print it right away. This service will also be expanded in the coming months to allow defence counsel and caseworkers to access the system.
JUSTICE ON TARGET AND THE CODE/LESAGE REVIEW
The Justice on Target strategy is focused on the everyday cases that make up 90 per cent of the Ontario criminal justice system. In February Attorney General Chris Bentley asked the Honourable Patrick LeSage and Professor Michael Code to lead a review of the way we deal with the other 10 per cent - the large and complex criminal cases.
This review will address systemic issues and help to develop solutions for everyone involved in the justice system with the goal of moving cases through the system faster and more effectively.
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
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