Community corrections and social control: The case of Saskatchewan, Canada

The use of institutional & community programs in Saskatchewan, Canada, is examined for the period 1962-1979 to explore the effect of community programs on the correctional system of the province, in particular, whether institutional programs are being replaced by community programs & what effect community programs have on the size of the total correctional caseload. The number of persons under the supervision of the Saskatchewan correctional system increased from a rate of 85.46 per 100,000 population to 321.99 between 1962 & 1979; total admissions (to institutions & community correction intake) increased from a rate of 479.82 per 100,000 population to a rate of 1,337.21. The data demonstrate that expansion of community programs resulted in no corresponding decrease in the use of correctional institutions; on the contrary, admissions to correctional institutions increased steadily, with the result that an ever-larger proportion of the population came under some form of state supervision. In Saskatchewan, community correction is a means for the state to expand its jurisdiction over an increasing proportion of the population in a time of fiscal restraint. Social control, once concentrated in institutions, is now being dispersed into the community. While it is clear the correctional system is expanding, it is not clear why. Fiscal restraint may help explain the development of community-based social control strategies, which themselves contribute to a widening of the net. These preliminary ideas should be developed further & verified empirically. 3 Tables, 4 Figures. Modified AA.