PRISONERS MAY GET CASH TO COMPLETE TREATMENTS

'Greater Incentives'

Sex offenders, drug addicts and alcoholics serving time in federal
prisons could be rewarded with money if they take part in treatment
programs, says Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan.

He raised the prospect of incentive pay yesterday as he announced that
the government is taking legislative steps to ensure that prisoners
take responsibility for completing their rehabilitation plans.

"One of the aspects of our legislation is to allow for greater
incentives, to encourage inmates to carry out their correctional plan
and that may take the form of enhanced prison pay," Mr. Van Loan told
a news conference.

"We will create the opportunity for wardens to work with incentives to
encourage good behaviour and not just disciplinary measures to punish
bad behaviour."

Mr. Van Loan did not elaborate on how much extra money prisoners could
earn for undergoing treatment, which would be in addition to the $6.90
they earn daily for working at prison jobs.

The participation pay is one of several ideas under consideration, Mr.
Van Loan said, as part of an overall new thrust toward holding
prisoners responsible for completing their corrections plans, which
would be taken into account when deciding parole.

The requirement is contained in a bill introduced yesterday that
includes several amendments to the Corrections and Conditional
Releases Act, governing federal prisoners serving sentences of two
years or more.

The proposed legislation also will enshrine in law an existing policy
of letting victims participate in offender parole hearings, and will
authorize police to make arrests on the spot, without obtaining
warrants, for those who violate their parole conditions.

Don Head, the commissioner of federal prisons, told a House of Commons
committee last week that incentives are needed to encourage the 20% of
offenders who "absolutely refuse outright" to participate in treatment.

"These individuals have become a significant challenge for us," Mr.
Head told the public safety committee, warning that the holdouts "will
probably be the ones who will be coming back through our doors for
years to come."

Mr. Head said that four of five prisoners who enter federal
penitentiaries have substance abuse problems and 50% committed their
crimes under the influence of drugs, alcohol, or other
intoxicants.

He also said that the percentage of prisoners with mental-health
problems has spiked in the past 12 years -- with a 71% increase for
men and 61% for women.

Steve Sullivan, the federal victims' ombudsman, said he is "not
necessarily opposed" to prisoners being paid to take treatment, as
long as the end result is that society is safer upon their release.

"We all want offenders to take part in programs," Mr. Sullivan
said.

Mr. Van Loan said that incentives for good behaviour -- he did not
offer any examples other than cash -- are the first step in the
government's eventual move toward earned release from prison, which
would replace the current system of automatic release after two-thirds
of a sentence is served.

"The changes that the government is proposing today are balanced and
fair," he

said. "They will help ensure that offenders get the help they need to
rejoin society as law-abiding citizens while also ensuring that our
streets and our federal corrections facilities are safer places for
everyone."

The National Parole Board, when making decisions, also will be
required to consider whether an offender has paid court-ordered
restitution to a victim, Mr. Van Loan said.

The government's move falls short of a call last year from the
victims' ombudsman to garnishee prisoner pay up to $100 to ensure that
victims receive financial compensation ordered by a judge, in the form
of a legislated victims' surcharge that is added upon sentencing.

"We believe that offenders should be made to pay back the court
restitution," Mr. Sullivan said. "If they don't have other resources
we think it's reasonable to look at garnisheeing wages. We're not
taking about lots of money."