If I suspect that my neighbour has been convicted of a sex crime, is that information available to me.
I had always assumed that trial records and convictions were in the public domain. If he was convicted a crime against the crown, I should be able to find out about it.
Were would this information be found? How accessible is it?
The RCMP has a registry but it is not currently open to the public, the is a petition to open it
If he’s been finished his sentence for what was it, 5 years? Then he’s entitled to a pardon if he got one before the law changed / will change. In that case, he should be off the registry (I think) and able to legally answer he has never been convicted. (Except at the US border - they don’t recognize pardons.)
As for getting an answer - I recall a recent article complaining that organizations requiring a background check for applicants, such as Big Brother, youngster hockey coaching groups, day cares, etc. - the waiting list to get an answer is pushing 3 to 6 months now. As usual, whoever said “let’s do *this *for the good of society” never explained how “this” would be supported and paid for.
OK, does this apply to any crime? If I suspect that my neighbour is a thief or a murderer and possibly on parole, where to I go to find out?
It was my tax dollars that paid for the trial. And, in theory, I could have attended the trial. Is there not somewhere to go to find the outcome?
Actually, no. You’re confusing the conviction/criminal record/pardon provisions with what in the OP’s question would be the Sex Offender Information Registration Act (SOIRA), the basics of which are here: here.
SOIRA is a registry maintained by the RCMP that is mandatory for anyone convicted of sexual offences, listed in s.490.011 of the Criminal Code. It lasts for 20 years from date of registry (usually within days of the conviction), and basically requires registrants to report to police their whereabouts. The information is not accessible to the public, but as the Capt. pointed out, there is a movement to change this. Occasionally, police will issue bulletins to the general public when an offender of pronounced or repeat offences will be moving into a particular area, but you can’t go into your local station and expect to be told whether or not your neighbour is an ex-con.
No one is “entitled” to a pardon - no matter when your conviction - you have to apply for it. There was a 3 year waiting period for non-violent offences, and a 5 year for offences of violence. They were certainly easier to get before the procedure was changed, but they didn’t just happen automatically. Now there is more ‘hands-on’ oversight, and the waiting periods have effectively doubled.
And I don’t know about where you live, but the last time I needed criminal record check, I walked into the HQ of my local municipal police force, paid the 12 or 15 bucks they wanted, and got it the same day.
In terms of the OP’s questions, you can go to the courthouse in the jurisdiction where you believe your neighbour was convicted and ask get a copy of his disposition sheet. It costs a few bucks and generally takes a day or two, but you’d have to know the date of his conviction, as well as his full name and birthdate. As far as court transcripts go, you would have to have the same basic information before you got anywhere. If the case did involve a sexual offence, especially against a minor, it’s likely there would have been a publication ban on at least the name of the victim. The basic information regarding criminal prosecutions is public information, but the rest of the files and records are time-consuming to access. They cannot be removed form the courthouse, so if you want your own copies, be prepared to fork out 25 cents per page or more, or spend hours listening to taped proceedings.
Word to the wise: if you do go to your local courthouse to access this info, I would drop the “my tax dollars pay for all this” attitude with the court staff.
The tail end of that link says your name can be removed if you get a pardon. Until recently, IIRC, getting a pardon was pretty straight forward. Not sure if the changes took effect last year or this year, but the wait IIRC has doubled to 10 years now.
If as per the OP, “I think my neighbour has been convicted of…” then odds are you do not know the date of conviction, let alone their date of birth; or possibly even their legal name.
So I would say it is still pretty hard to get the correct information. However, I’ve never had to worry about it.