What Does the s*x Offender Information Registration Act Do in Canada? The s*x Offender information registration act in canada has a certain well documented application in Canadian criminal system, It defines the procedures and how it should be applied.
Bill C-16, the s*x Offender Information Registration Act (SOIRA), which came into force on December 15, 2004, establishes authority for the creation of a national database of convicted s*x offenders to be maintained by the RCMP for the exclusive use of police for the investigation of crimes of a sexual nature. The registry is designed to be searchable by local police by specific criteria (i.e. geographical area, postal code area, physical attributes of offender, etc.), producing instant lists of previously convicted suspects matching the facts of a specific offence.
The SOIRA will allow police to determine whether convicted s*x offenders reside in the vicinity of the offence, to determine who they are and where they reside, and to decide if further investigation is warranted or if they can be eliminated as suspects.
An offender convicted or found not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder for certain designated s*x offences must report to a registration centre (for example, a police station) within fifteen days of being sentenced or released from custody and provide key information, including his or her home, secondary and employment address. The offender is required to re-register annually or fifteen days after any change of name or address.
Registration is possible for those offenders who are subject to a sentence for a prescribed offence that is sexual in nature as of the date of proclamation, namely December 15, 2004. Registration of offenders eligible for this retrospective scheme is triggered by the provincial Attorney General causing personal service to be effected on those offenders. Offenders who are served have one year to apply to a Court for an exemption from the obligation to register under the SOIRA. These offenders are required to register at a registration centre where they do not apply to the Court for an exemption within a one-year period or the Court decides not to exempt them from registration. Registration must occur within fifteen days from the day the one-year period has expired or from the day of the Court’s decision not to exempt the offender.
s*x offenders are required to remain registered for one of three periods; these periods are geared to the maximum penalty available for the offence of which they were convicted and begin to run on the date of sentencing: 10 years for summary conviction offences and offences with 2 and 5 year maximums; 20 years for offences carrying a 10 or 14 year maximum sentence, and lifetime for offences with a maximum life sentence or when there is a prior conviction for a s*x offence.
As a rule, offenders are eligible to make an application to the Court for a termination order not before 5 years for orders lasting 10 years, 10 years for orders lasting 20 years and 20 years for lifetime orders. If more than one order is made against an offender, he or she may make an application no earlier than 20 years after the most recent order was made. Offenders are also entitled to apply for a termination order after receiving a pardon under the Criminal Records Act.
s*x offender information will remain on the database indefinitely except for final acquittal on appeal or free pardon under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy, section 748 of the Criminal Code or an exemption order under subsection 490.023(2) of the Criminal Code – in these cases information is permanently removed.
Tags: act, Canada, information, Offender, Registration, sex