A Profile of Offenders Unlawfully at Large

What we did

The sample for this study included all offenders who were released on day parole, full parole, statutory release or a long term supervision order (LTSO) between April 1, 2018 and March 31, 2021 and followed in the community until March 31, 2022. UAL was defined as a suspension warrant issued during the supervision period for being UAL.^{Footnote 1}

UAL and non-UAL^{Footnote 2}  offenders were compared on demographics, sentence, offence, criminogenic risk and need information, institutional behaviour, and release characteristics. 

What we found

Overall, 13,860 offenders were granted conditional release during the study period: 92% (n = 12,764) men and 8% (n = 1,096) women. Of this group, 1,646 (12%) offenders went UAL during the study period, where men (12%, n = 1,498) and women offenders (13%, n = 148) had similar UAL rates. Among men offenders, the average amount of time from release to going UAL was three months (SD = 5) and the average amount of time to UAL for women offenders was four months (SD = 5).

On average, men and women UAL offenders were younger at release (35 and 32 years of age, respectively) than men and women non-UAL offenders (39 and 37 years of age, respectively). A large proportion of UAL (71% men and 76% women) and non-UAL offenders (67% men and 76% women) were serving a sentence of less than four years. The most common offence type for UAL offenders was robbery-related (27% men and 24% women), whereas drug-related offences were most common for non-UAL offenders (26% men and 43% women).

At release, men UAL offenders were more likely to be assessed as high static risk (65% UAL versus 45% non-UAL) and high dynamic need (77% UAL versus 46% non-UAL), and as having low reintegration potential (53% UAL versus 46% non-UAL) and medium motivation (61% UAL versus 55% non-UAL). Women UAL offenders were more likely to be assessed as medium static risk (55% UAL versus 44% non-UAL) and high need (70% UAL versus 38% non-UAL), and as having medium reintegration potential (70% UAL versus 60% non-UAL) and medium motivation (53% UAL versus 38% non-UAL). Lastly, both men and women UAL offenders were more likely to score moderate to high need on all need domains compared to non-UAL offenders.

While incarcerated, UAL offenders were more likely to have guilty disciplinary charges (71% men and 69% women), including serious and minor charges, compared to non-UAL offenders (46% men and 40% women). A greater proportion of UAL offenders also had institutional incidents (71% men and 80% women) compared to non-UAL offenders (56% for both men and women). Finally, UAL offenders were less likely to be supervised on discretionary release (30% men and 58% women) compared to non-UAL offenders (56% men and 80% women) and UAL offenders were more likely to have a residency condition (45% men and 22% women) than non-UAL offenders (18% men and 6% women).

What it means

The results of the current study demonstrated that overall, UAL offenders (both men and women) were younger, with higher risk and need and more problematic institutional behaviour compared to non-UAL offenders. Further, results showed that on average, offenders who went UAL did so in the first few months of release, suggesting this is a critical period for going UAL.

For more information   

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Prepared by: Angela Smeth, Dena Derkzen & Shanna Farrell MacDonald