Intermittent Sentences

AuthorSteve Coughlan/Alex Gorlewski
Pages376-381
376 Post-trial Matters / Special Post-conviction Procedures
4.2(d) Intermittent Sentences
Has the oender been
sentenced to imprisonment of
ninety days or fewer?1
Yes
No
The court may impose an
intermittent sentence2
An intermittent
sentence is
unavailable
The oender may
apply for a sentence
served consecutively3
If the oender is imprisoned
for another oence, the rest of
the intermittent sentence shall
be served consecutively, unless
otherwise ordered4
Ordinarily, an oender sentenced to a term of imprisonment must serve it
continuously, starting from the day it is imposed. Where the term is ninety
days or fewer in length, however, the court may order that the oender serve it
intermittently instead: see s 732(1) of the Criminal Code, RSC 1985, c C-46 [Code].
Oenders subject to intermittent sentences will be able to continue living and
working in their own communities, while reporting to prison at regular inter-
vals to serve their sentences in short bursts over a longer period of time. This
will usually mean requiring the oenders to serve their sentence on consecu-
tive weekends, but there is nothing in the Code that compels this practice, and
other arrangements, based on the unique circumstances of dierent oend-
ers, are possible: see, for example, R v K(E), 2012 BCPC 132. While the oenders
are not in prison, they will be subject to a probation order, which may remain
in force for a period of time after they have completed the custodial portion of
their sentence: s 732(1)(b). See, generally, Allan Manson, The Law of Sentencing
(Toronto: Irwin Law, 2001) at ch 9, s H, Intermittent Sentence.
1. HAS THE OFFENDER BEEN SENTENCED TO IMPRISONMENT OF
NINETY DAYS OR FEWER?
That an oender receives a sentence of up to ninety-days’ imprisonment is the
only eligibility requirement set out in s 732(1) for being able to serve it inter-
mittently. For practical purposes, this means that oenders whose crimes carry

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT