If convicted of a crime, there are a variety of sentencing options that might be imposed depending on the crime and the judge. It is important to understand what these different sentencing options entail so you can be educated and informed going into a criminal proceeding.
If you are found to be guilty of a crime you will receive a subsequent sentence. There are four recognized types of sentences according to the Attorney General’s office- concurrent, consecutive, intermittent, and conditional. These sentences can also include certain parameters such as imprisonment, Probation orders, fines, or community service. Our aim is to break down what these all mean and what you need to know about them.
Concurrent Sentence:
A concurrent sentence involves serving multiple sentences at the same time with one another. For example, if you’re convicted of Impaired Driving and Driving a Stolen Vehicle and you’re sentenced to 12 months of imprisonment for both offences, but you receive a concurrent sentence, you will only need to serve 12 months in prison because you’re serving both at the same time. This is different from a consecutive sentence but often involves more serious crime.
Consecutive Sentence:
In the above example, if you receive a consecutive sentence, it means you cannot serve both sentences at the same time. This means you will have to serve both 12-month sentences, meaning you will be in prison for 24 months with a consecutive sentence because you’ll be serving both 12-month sentences back to back rather than at the same time. This sentence also involves more serious crime.
Intermittent Sentence:
Intermittent sentences are kind of like a mix between probation and incarceration and they are only allowed for sentences that are less than 90 days. This allows those sentenced to go into the public on probation orders certain days a week, say to go to work to keep making a living, and then return to jail on certain days to serve their sentence. It is usually used for crimes of middle-level seriousness.
Conditional Sentence:
A conditional sentence is what people mean when they say they “got parole”. Those receiving a conditional sentence will be subject to certain rules such as attending meetings and having check-ins with a parole officer in order to serve their sentence from home rather than in jail. Any violation of these conditions may result in extra sentencing involving incarceration. This is usually used for middle to lower levels of seriousness of crime.
Non-Custodial Sentencing:
The above different sentences are all interrelated with actually serving time either in jail or some version of probation, however there are many options available to judges when sentencing someone convicted. These are used typically for less serious crime.
Fines:
One example is a fine, which is a monetary penalty someone convicted of a crime may have to pay as reparations for their criminal activity.
Community Service:
Another example can include orders to provide some sort of service to the broader community. This will be organised either through the court or a regulatory third party and will involve timed activities that benefit broader society like picking up trash in a public park.
Driving Related Conditions:
Offences involving motor vehicles like Drunk Driving charges will often include some sort of driving condition. This can include an outright driving ban for a period of time, the mandatory installation of an ignition interlock breathalyser system.
And Many More:
This does not include the full range of sentencing options available to a judge however it would be impossible to list them all as judges are granted a good amount of discretion when making sentencing decisions.
To get an even better understanding of sentencing options it’s best you contact one of our highly qualified lawyers at Collett Read LLP. Do not hesitate to contact us for a confidential consultation through our contact page or call us at (905) 541-2228.
