News Release

For Immediate Release
June 20, 2008

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McGuinty Government Implementing Faster, Focused Justice

NEWS

Through the new Justice on Target strategy, the McGuinty government is setting province-wide targets to reduce court delays and appearances by 30 per cent over the next four years.

The average number of court appearances and days to complete a criminal case has approximately doubled since 1992, even though the province has substantially increased the number of judges, justices of the peace, Crown attorneys and police. Through Justice on Target, the province will refocus justice resources to make our courts faster and more effective.

To ensure transparency and accountability, the province has made criminal court statistics available to the public for the first time. The public will be able to follow the progress of the Justice on Target strategy and see the impact on courthouses in Windsor and other communities.

The multidisciplinary Justice on Target implementation team is being led by Regional Senior Justice Bruce Durno and Senior Crown Attorney Kenneth Anthony. The team will work with justice sector partners to develop and implement new initiatives that improve coordination, focus justice resources and move cases through the justice system faster.

QUOTES

"Justice on Target will build on our government's investments and increase the effectiveness of the criminal justice system," said Attorney General Chris Bentley. "Before we make further investments, we want to make sure that the system is working as effectively as it can be."

"This initiative aims to use Windsor's criminal justice resources most effectively, maximizing our impact and making our community a safer place to live, work and play," said Sandra Pupatello, MPP Windsor West.

"Reducing court delays and non-productive court appearances will increase public safety and confidence in the criminal justice system in Windsor and Essex County," said Bruce Crozier, MPP Essex.

"In addition to saving court time, our government is creating new opportunities to refocus justice resources to achieve better public safety results," said Dwight Duncan, MPP Windsor-Tecumseh.

QUICK FACTS

• In 2007, it took an average of 206 days and 7.7 court appearances to dispose of a criminal charge in Windsor. The provincial average is 205 days and 9.2 court appearances.
• With 600,000 charges entering the system every year, saving one minute per charge could save seven years of court time.
• Over the past four years, the McGuinty government's justice investments include:
  
  • 24 additional judges
  • 73 additional justices of the peace
  • Over 200 additional Crown attorneys
  • $68 million for the Guns and Gangs Task Force
  • $51 million over three years in new funding for Legal Aid Ontario.

LEARN MORE

Read more about the ministry's new Justice on Target strategy

View appearance statistics from the Windsor courthouse

Read about national criminal court statistics

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