What Is An Intermittent Sentence?

In short, an intermittent sentence is one that can be served on the weekends.  In order to be eligible to receive an intermittent sentence, section 732 of the Criminal Code of Canada sets out the requirements.  The offender must be sentenced to 90 days or less and the Judge will take into consideration the age, character of the offender, the nature of the offence and the circumstances surrounding its commission and availability of appropriate accommodation to ensure compliance with the sentence.  The court will usually impose a period of probation to take effect after the sentence has been served.  Intermittent sentences are advantageous to offenders because they tend to shorten the actual time an offender has to stay in physical jail.   This is done through the application of counting days served in jail.  Normally, an accused must turn himself into jail on Friday evening around 6 pm and is released on Monday morning at around 6 am.  Both Friday and Monday are counted as a day, which means going into jail on Friday evening and coming out on Monday morning count as 4 full days even though Friday and Monday were not real days spent in jail.  If you are charged with a criminal offence in Ontario and are wondering if you are eligible for an intermittent sentence, please call me at 905-789-9007 or email me at avi@baratzlaw.com for a free confidential consultation.