N.S. failing to properly monitor people serving community sentences: auditor general

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia’s auditor general says the province must immediately and significantly improve how it monitors people serving sentences in the community.

Kim Adair’s audit released today concludes that the company providing Nova Scotia with electronic supervision services is not fulfilling its responsibilities. She did not name the company in her report.

She says the Department of Justice failed to monitor the company, which has been paid about $250,000 each year for the past five years.

Adair’s audit also finds that some probation officers are not meeting with people as required and are not complying with corrections policies, resulting in poor supervision and lack of oversight.

She says that as of March 2020, there were 4,700 people serving community-based sentences in Nova Scotia, which is 10 times more than the number of people in provincial custody.

A community-based sentence allows someone convicted of a crime to complete all or part of their sentence living in the community, typically under the supervision of a probation officer.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 17, 2022.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

The Canadian Press