Justice Improvements Going Forward

More improvements to the province's justice system will result from reviews of two incidents involving offenders at the Central Nova Scotia Correctional Facility last fall.

"Our justice system processes about 15,000 cases a year -- that's thousands of offenders, most facing multiple charges -- and more than 99 per cent of those are error free," said Justice Minister Ross Landry. "These reviews provide us with insights that we will use to further reduce the risk of mistakes."

Mr. Landry called for a review of the procedures that were in place at the time of the incidents involving the mistaken release of prisoners.

"We will be focusing on measures to improve communication and co-ordination among the various parties within the system. We will also make changes to our computer system that will help to reduce the possibility of human error."

The Justice Department is also working on a disclosure policy to improve public communication when significant incidents occur. It's expected to be finalized in the spring.

The Nova Scotia justice system includes the courts, the judiciary, the public prosecutions' service, corrections officers, sheriffs, community corrections workers, data-entry clerks, administration staff, computer professionals, and other department of Justice employees.

The incident reviews may be viewed at www.gov.ns.ca/just/publications/ .