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Ontario putting more repeat violent offenders behind bars

Jan. 11, 2024, Whitby, Ont. – The Ontario government is investing $24 million over three years to help prevent repeat and violent offenders from committing serious crimes while out on bail.

“It is unacceptable that repeat and violent offenders are committing serious crimes while out on bail,” said Solicitor General Michael Kerzner. “By giving police the tools they need to track and arrest offenders who violate their bail conditions, our government is helping to ensure Ontario is one of the safest jurisdictions in Canada.”

The investment is being delivered through the Bail Compliance and Warrant Apprehension (BCWA) Grant program and will help police services establish dedicated bail compliance and/or warrant apprehension teams to monitor high-risk individuals. It will also support new technology for a provincewide bail compliance monitoring system.

“We are proud of the work we have done in collaboration with Toronto on the bail dashboard and appreciate the Ontario government’s investment to expand it across Ontario. The sustained success of the dashboard and bail compliance initiatives will come from the continued support and investments to deliver and grow this important community safety program,” said Chief Peter Moreira, Durham Regional Police Service.

The BCWA Grant program is part of a $112 million investment to strengthen the province’s bail system and ensure high-risk and repeat violent offenders comply with their bail conditions. Other measures include:

• The creation of a Bail Compliance Unit within the OPP’s Repeat Offender Parole Enforcement (ROPE) Squad
• The establishment of Intensive Serious Violent Crime Bail Teams within the court system
• A new provincewide bail compliance dashboard to help monitor high-risk offenders with the most accurate data possible

The BCWA Grant program will support 17 municipal police services, four First Nations police services and 12 Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) services.