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In 1992, it took an average of 4.3 court appearances to bring a charge to completion. By 2007, this figure had more than doubled to 9.2 appearances. As a result of Justice on Target (JOT) it has dropped to 8.6 (down 7%).
In 2007 it took an average 172 days to complete a criminal charge, factoring out the impact of bench warrant days. As a result of JOT that figure has been reduced to 169 (down 1.3%)
As a result of JOT, two out of every three court sites have reduced the average number of appearances. 16 courts have achieved double-digit reductions.
More than half the court sites in the province have reduced the average number of days to disposition. 20 courts have achieved double-digit reductions.
Every criminal court site (57) of the Ontario Court of Justice has achieved greater efficiencies, improved service for the public and other benefits. What does this mean in your community?
Service to the public has improved. Ontario courts now provide more information sooner so that more is accomplished at every court appearance. People can make the same appropriate decisions as before, but sooner in the process.
Everyone involved in the criminal justice system, including victims, witnesses and the public, benefits from more effective practices in our criminal courts. For example...
- Judiciary and Justices of the Peace – more information and opportunity to monitor case progression
- Defence Counsel – increased and earlier access to disclosure, resolution Crowns and plea courts
- Crown – more time available to attend to the more serious and complex cases
- Police – less time spent on administrative work and at unproductive court appearances, and more time in the community
- Court staff – less time spent preparing for unnecessary court appearances and more time on other duties, such as helping the public at court counters
- Victims and Witnesses – less time and hardship caused by unnecessary court appearances and delayed resolution
- Accused – faster, more effective resolution of their cases
- Public – greater confidence in the ability of the criminal justice system to deal with cases in a timely and effective manner.
More than 500,000 court appearances have been eliminated since our strategy was launched.
More than half of all charges are now completed within 120 days.
Provincewide, criminal courts are now consistently completing more charges than are coming into the system every year.
Low-risk offenders are being held accountable for their actions within their own communities through Direct Accountability. In 2011, Direct Accountability resulted in:
- $786,238 in restitution to victims
- 86,345 hours of community service performed.
On-site Legal Aid Application offices or Legal Aid staff are now available at 57 courthouse locations, compared with only eight in 2008.
The Justice on Target strategy has been nationally recognized with a Gold 2010 IPAC/Deloitte Public Sector Leadership Award.
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