What is required to declare someone a dangerous offender?
The Crown must apply to have someone declared a “dangerous offender.†It is not a standard component of criminal sentencing.
In most circumstances, a Dangerous Offender Designation will arise out of a pattern of convictions for violence or sexual violence. A person may be designated a “dangerous offender†through two routes. General dangerousness from violent behaviour and dangerousness from sexual behaviour.
General Violence
In order to be designated a “dangerous offender†through the general violence route an offender must:
- Be convicted of a “serious personal injury offence†as defined by s. 752 of the Criminal Code; and
- Be determined by the court to represent “a threat to the life, safety or physical or mental well-being of other persons†on the basis of:
- A pattern of behaviour (which the underlying offence is part of) that shows a failure of restraint and a likelihood of causing death or injury to other persons, or inflicting severe psychological damage on other person, in future;
- A pattern of persistent aggressive behaviour (which the underlying offence is part of) that shows a substantial degree of indifference to the reasonable consequences of their actions; or
- Any behaviour in relation to the underlying offence that is “of such a brutal nature as to compel the conclusion that the offender’s behaviour in the future is unlikely to be inhibited by normal standards of behavioural restraint.â€
Sexual Violence
In order to be designated a dangerous offender through the sexual violence route an offender must:
- Be convicted of a “serious personal injury offence†as defined by s. 752 of the Criminal Code;
- By their conduct in any sexual matter, show a failure to control their sexual impulses, which demonstrates a likelihood of causing injury, pain or other evil to other persons through failure in the future to control their impulses.