UNDERSTANDING THE SITUATION

The purpose of Love Soluble is to provide accessible substance use disorder treatment to pre-sentenced individuals who are facing incarceration due to actions influenced by their substance use disorder.

Currently, the majority of inmates in provincial correctional institutions are being held 

without bail. A large majority of individuals who are held without bail struggle

with substance use disorder. These individuals are denied bail due to risk-averse

decisions made in criminal court proceedings. These risk-averse decisions are made

because there are inadequate treatment options available to address the disorder, and without treatment, the risk of re-offending is high.

• Inmates who suffer with substance use disorder are overrepresented in the Canadian Criminal Justice System [1].
• In Canada, 70% of offenders struggle with substance abuse disorder [2].
• The number of inmates being held on remand grows each year; currently an overwhelming 79% of inmates in provincial institutions in Ontario are being held on remand.
• In Ontario last year, on any given day, there were 7,247 inmates in provincial institutions across Ontario, and 5,719 of those inmates were being held on remand [3].
• In Ontario, the recidivism rate is high: 46% of released inmates re-offend [4].
• The high risk of re-offending due to untreated substance abuse disorder is a significant reason why risk-averse decisions to withhold bail are made in court proceedings.
• Rates of recidivism are dramatically reduced (50% or more) when sentences are served under community supervision instead of through incarceration. [1].
• Average daily cost in 2021 to keep inmates incarcerated increased by $82/ day from 2020 to an average of $341 per day (CAD). [2].
• Substance use disorder is a substantial and continuing issue in institutions, and when left untreated, it is a barrier to effective correction of offending behaviour and a barrier to successful reintegration into society [5].

• Adequate treatment options are not available in Ontario for inmates in a pre-sentenced state of incarceration which is the key contributing factor why the majority of inmates are withheld bail and held on remand.

[1] Government of Ontario, rates of recidivism in Ontario

https://www.ontario.ca/page/rates-recidivism-ontario

[2] Department of Justice Government of Canada. (2021, July 21). Mental health and addictions.

https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/news-nouv/photo/video9.html

[3] Correctional Service of Canada. (2015). FORUM on Corrections Research.

https://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/research/forum/e133/e133c-eng.shtml

[4] Government of Canada, Statistics Canada. (2023, February 23). Average counts of adults in provincialand territorial correctional programs.

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=3510015401&pickMembers%5B0%5D=1.7&cubeTimeFrame.startYear=2017%2B%2F%2B2018&cubeTimeFrame.endYear=2021%2B%2F%2B2022&referencePeriods=20170101%2C20210101

[5] Department of Justice: Government of Canada. (2023, January 20). Recidivism in the Criminal JusticeSystem. https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/jr/jf-pf/2020/aug01.html

As identified by the Correctional Service of Canada, when an individual is released with an untreated substance use disorder it is a significant barrier to the individual’s successful reintegration to society; whereas Love Soluble addresses this barrier by offering a comprehensive treatment program that provides the foundation for long-term recovery from substance use disorder which supports successful reintegration and reduced risk of re-offending. The statistics display that a large proportion of individuals in provincial institutions are not convicted of a crime and are held on remand. The majority of inmates disclose struggling with a substance use disorder and experience a lack of social supports and resources in the provincial correctional systems to assist them to recover from their substance use disorder. Love Soluble is dedicated to bridging this gap between presentenced incarceration and addictions treatment and providing the social support that is needed for successful reintegration into society with a high unlikelihood for re-offending.