Elizabeth Fry Society of Sudbury

The Elizabeth Fry Society, Sudbury is dedicated to addressing the needs of persons in conflict with the law, or at risk of becoming in conflict with the law, and in particular the circumstances of women and young women in the criminal justice system.

Bail Verification & Supervision Services

The Bail Verification and Supervision Program includes both the verification of information about accused persons and the supervision of accused persons while they are in the community awaiting trial.

Between 1980 and 1997, the Elizabeth Fry Society successfully delivered the Bail Verification and Supervision Program in the Sudbury area. In January of 2007, the program was re-introduced.  Program objectives are: to ensure that accused persons otherwise entitled to pre-trial release are not held in custody because of a lack of financial resources or community connections, expedite bail and court proceedings by providing the court with the verified information required to enable the pre-trial release of an accused person, reduce incidents of failures to appear in court and the resulting delays through supervision of clients, assist clients to take steps to address the precipitating factors that contribute to the alleged misconduct and decrease remand populations.

Eligibility

Bail services are available to male and female persons, 16 years of age and older accused of a criminal offence(s) who are:

  • Awaiting initial bail proceedings
  • Remanded for show cause hearing
  • In custody and unable to meet their surety or cash bail
  • Appealing a bail decision which has resulted in detention

Verification

Referrals to this program result from various sources such as: the Courts, the Crown Attorney, Defence, Duty Counsel, Correctional Staff, Court Workers, community agencies, family, friends and self. The bail verifcation process involves the completion of an interview which is the gathering of information that will be shared with the courts to assist in making a determination regarding release from custody. Following the interview, the bail worker takes the appropriate steps to verify the information provided by the accused.

Upon completion of the verification process the Bail Worker advises the Courts, Crown Attorney and Defence/Duty Counsel of the availability of a surety or suitability for supervision under the Bail Verification and Supervision Program.

Supervision

Supervision begins when an accused person is released from custody on a judicial interim release order with a condition of bail to directing them to participate in the Elizabeth Fry Society Bail Program.
It is the responsibility of the accused to:

  • Report to the Elizabeth Fry Society for intake
  • Establish and maintain a regular reporting schedule with a Bail worker
  • Attend all scheduled court dates
  • Abide by all of their conditions of bail
  • Work with their Bail Worker to implement a case plan that addresses issues that may have contributed to them coming before the courts

It is the responsibility of the The Bail Worker to:

  • Supervise and meet regularly with the client
  • Monitor and enforce the client’s compliance with bail conditions
  • Remind client of court dates
  • Assist the client to develop and implement a case plan
  • Provide ongoing client support and assistance through case management
  • Initiate referrals to community programs and services

Bail Supervision continues until there is a termination of all orders requiring Bail Supervision.