Volume 28, Number 2, 1995 La détention provisoire Guest-edited by Marie-Marthe Cousineau

EN:

For a long time, it has been argued that pre-trial detention should be used with moderation, only in those occasions where no other means seems sufficient to insure the presence of the suspect at his trial or to warrant the security of the public during the duration of the criminal proceedings. Looking at the official statistics reported by the author, one could easily conclude that, in Canada, the pre-trial detention is still largely used. By following a cohort of 1792 suspects from the moment they were apprehended by the MUC police agents in 1989, till the end of Court procedures, the author identifies the characteristics of the suspects who were maintained in pre-trial detention in comparison to the ones that were not submitted to this measure. Further, the author addresses the controversial question of the consequences of pre-trial detention on penal issues. In conclusion the author raises the question if it could be possible to develop other ways of dealing with what she defines as the perceived risk that a suspect tries escape trial or continues to cause harm to the society during the trial.

EN:

Considering debates frequently raised in France concerning the situation of pre-trial detention, the author identifies some trends: the constant reference to statistics; lack of efforts to precise the meaning of indicators used in making a demonstration — in fact the same statistics can be used to demonstrate contradictory theses —, a largely spread habit to always speak of more : more use of pre-trial incarceration, more pre-trial detainees... Those practices, argue the author, lead to ignore important changes in trends and to avoid questioning the meaning of those. The limited interest in research using more sophisticated indicators — that could add usefully informations to the data published regularly by the prison administrations —, international comparisons between data not necessarily comparable, references to old statistics, all result in everyone continuing to attribute to France the European championship in terms of pre-trial detention, while the actual situation could be totally different. Considering all those elements, the author presents new bases to reanimate the debate on the question of the use of pre-trial detention.

EN:

This article addresses the issue of the particular categories and degrees of constraints imposed upon pre-trial and convicted female inmates in Canadian institutions, focusing on two of those referred to as examples, Maison Tanguay in the province of Québec and the Burnaby Correctional Centre for Women located in British Columbia. It describes the conditions faced by women, incarcerated for a more or less long term period, and attempts to portray some reasoning as to why a pre-trial inmate must be subjected to similar or worse prison conditions as that of a convicted fellow. In order of do so, the author considers studies such as Biron (1992), Heidensohn (1985) and Bertrand (I994). The article concludes by indicating that due to the incertainty of her situation (would the suspect be convicted, when and what would be the sentence?) a pre-trial inmate may suffer additional constraints compared to an inmate convicted to prison for several years.

EN:

This article discusses how pre-trial detention has become an important instrument in the treatment of the accused whose mental state has been questioned during the judicial process. This study is part of a major research trend centered on the hypothesis of criminalization of the mental illness. This hypothesis has been defined as a shift of groups of the population from the mental health system to the criminal justice system. First, the authors examine how the Criminal Code's dispositions and those regarding mental disorder, which have been revised in February 1992, can be associated with the Court's decisions regarding the release of the accused during the legal process. Then, the authors continue to look into the question concerning the articulation of dual decisional logic (judicial and psychiatric) by studying approximately 1 000 cases heard before the Criminal and Penal Chamber of the Québec Court in Montréal in 1992-1993, in which the mental illness issue was raised. This analysis will try to demonstrate a link between pre-trial detention and mental health problems. It will also show that, despite the adoption of the principle of presumption against custody during assessment orders regarding mental disorder, the Court practices are changing slowly and the new dispositions are rarely used.

EN:

The history of three Belgian juvenile institutions is presented : the St. Hubert Penitentiary (1840-1921 ), its extension at Namur (1871-1896) and the Girls' Penitentiary at Namur (1864-1896). These institutions are seen in the more general context of the evolution from a reform of offender approach that characterizes the initial period, to an approach that stresses the need to protect youth who become viewed as children in danger in the last part of the century.

EN:

This study is a discursive analysis which emphasises the notions of moral depravation, urban milieu and prison in the hygienists' discourse. Their knowledge focuses on the human-milieu relationship and is structured in such a way as to promote a vast program of reform. From their standpoint, filth, miasmas, putrefaction, and the cramming together of a massive population with a large contingent of indigents, meant the spread of physical diseases and moral depravation. Packed in the slums, repeatedly entering the local prison for a few days, a segment of the population was at the center of the hygienist preoccupation. Furthermore, the prison was perceived as reproducing defective urban conditions. Reforming both the city and the prison was conceived as a similar project. Reading the social organization as an entity meant that moral depravation is an indicator of the state of society as a whole and therefore should be a concern for everyone.

EN:

This research on 116 parents of young offenders from the Montreal Centre area indicates that delinquency and its consequences have a negative impact on most parents. Basic statistics are presented for stress, fatigue, health, and general happiness. In addition, qualitative data from the young offenders' official files corroborate these results and offer more details concerning the areas of parents' lives that are affected. This paper examines the cultural and social reasons behind researchers' lack of interest in this topic. The study's results and limitations suggest a vast array of research questions.