So you are conficted of an offence and you are given HOUSE ARREST, now what? You report to the parol office and sent home, no monetering bracelet, nothing. You are able to go to work between certain hours of the day, who is going to check to see if you are even home, I cant imigine a visit at 12am from a correction officer! Can anyone help with any information as what I can expect, Thank you in advance,
ChopShop

I believe you wear an ankle bracelet that beeps or informs the PO or someone that you are outside your limits. When you go to the store or something, thats why you have to inform them, so they dont set off the alarm.

Whoops. I just noticed you said no monitoring bracelet....Thats not house arrest then. House arrest and a CSO are completely different. A CSO is served in the community, its same as probation, no diff really, cept you go straight to jail if you breech. As for how will they know? Someone would have to tell them.

Welcome to PTO first off and secondly there is a thread that should answer your questions (conditional release is a bit different in Canada then it is in the States) http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=82582

Hi, not to correct anyone but I think you were looking for information on conditional sentences not on conditional release, which is a form of parole upon release from prison granted by the National Parole Board whereas a conditional sentence is imposed by the Judge during sentencing. While some of the information under conditional release is some what the same. The Judge has the authority to impose lots of conditions or very little, it can be very different from probation and it definetly can include house arrest for certain hours of the day up to 24 hours a day, without a monitoring bracelet, any sentence (conditional, full parole, day parole) are sentences served in the community and each case can involve a variety of conditions. There really is no one to check to see if you are following all the conditions but if you are stopped by the police they will report you or take you to jail. I have heard of PO's stopping by the house or phoning when you are supposed to be home to check but very rare as they are swamped with work. If you screw up your conditions you do not necessarily go right to jail, this is up to you probation officer to give you another chance or you will appear in front of the Judge again and the Judge will decide if you receive another chance or two or if you go to prison. Also, on a conditional sentence if you are doing well and you want some of the conditions changed, such as go from a recovery house to your home or 24 hour house arrest to none you can go in front of the Judge and make the request and if they think you are doing well they will sometimes change them. Unfortuntely I know all this as my husband was on a conditional sentence (now in prison serving the rest after two screw ups) and has had conditional release - full parole and probation. Good luck!!!

Thank you Nicole I did read that one wrong and thank you for providing the right information !! :)

Ok Nicole, you seem to be the right person for this topic, So there is no way of getting caught breaking a conditional sentece (served in the community) house arrest, unless you yourself screw up, eg. picked up by police for anther act, or tail light etc. after your curfue. And of course most importantly your own mouth cause you tell someone that your under house arrest and eventually it gets to someone who hates you and rats you off. In my opinion and common sense, A PO is not working at 9pm at night, so there is no hope of stopping by your house. Plus, in reality I cant see this frail 55 year old woman rumminging around on the streets of her offenders and at their homes. So are you sure their is not a budget for agents of the court or officers to check to see if all of the conditional sentences are being enforced. I mean, they are saving millions of dollars (By you being at home) and not spending a cent to follow up? CANT BE!
How did your (and I feel for him) husband get caught 2 times and end up back in the slammer, did he hit his head?
Chop Shop

However, if you live in a small town you can be sure the police will know not only the conditions but who he is and if he is considering risking breaking the conditions then he is also risking returning to prison. I do not recommend that you encourage him risking the conditions of his release. I think there is a valuable message at the end of Nicole32's post.

Chop Shop, there may not be much of a chance of a PO stopping by your house but if they call and you are not home, which they may or may not do you are expected to answer you phone at any of the hours that you are expected to be at home. I really don't think it is worth the risk. Your freedom during the hours that you are allowed out the house out weight the risk of prison. I know that here we had the police stop by just to "say hello" a couple of times at night, not really late but past working hours and my husband wasn't even living here at home (conditions required that he live at a recovery house) and he was only allowed to visit in the evenings (until curfew) and all weekend. As for my husband, he did not get hit in the head but probably needs to be. His first screw up was a dirty piss test but his PO didn't report it (first chance) and the second one was not being home on time. I can assure you that he felt that it was hard to get caught as no one was really watching you every day but his PO happened to call when he was not home on time (night time) and the PO put out a warrant asap. A conditional sentence in a sense is a gift, almost like a second chance, who wants to go to prison. I would strongly urge you to just follow the rules and before you know it it will be over and you can move on with your life. Is one or two nights of fun and missing curfew worth spending months if not over a year in prison. No it is not. Be strong, I understand it is not easy but well worth it in the end. Take care and good luck!

I am on house arrest - conditional sentence -- and I wouldn't take even the tiniest chance to break the rules. As said above, it is a gift -- a huge gift to us that were stupid and who will not be repeat offenders. I am finishing my first year and my PO knows me by now and will work with me for special requests.
I do want to point out, however, to those of us who are not "hardened" a conditional sentence is tough in itself. You are humiliated in the community, your children are shunned, it is very difficult to find decent work, and your emotions hit a very deep low. Yes, I am sure it is night and day compared to incarceration, but don't underestimate what it does to your head to be alone for so long.

Welcome Etc !!
You make some very good points there. Thank you. Do you have one more year to go ?
One really good point is that you are fooling the rules and your PO knows it and is able to loosen the grip somewhat for special requests. That certainly would not happen if the PO suspected you were not following the rules.
Conditional Sentence is based on trust and an opportunity to prove yourself trustworthy and stay in the community but Im sure it must be very hard especially if you have children. Hang in there ETC !!

My husband was on house arrest for a year the cops do check on you not your parole officer and they come at odd times 3 in the afternoon to 3 in the morning and if you breach they send you to jail for the remainder of your sentence .. I do not recoomed trying to go out on house arrest the likley hood of getting caught is low but , i would rather be at home then in jail

I know that this thread is older, but I just wanted to add that people on house arrest and community supervision orders are checked on often by police. I know clients who have been checked on to make sure that they were at home when they weren't working, at home during curfew, etc. I had one client who was checked on randomly and another one who had a cop at the house on a frequent basis. So it is possible that someone is keeping an eye on you!

I am currently on a conditional federal release. My whereabouts are listed each day, and if I am going to be gone for more than 90 minutes, I have to phone and let them know. I can go anywhere in Toronto from 8am - 11pm monday-thursday, and weekends 8am - 1am.
They do telephone spotchecks, calling at random at least once a week. If they call, you have 90 minutes to respond. If you are not there, you will receive shorter and shorter curfews, along with more spot checks.
I'll also add that I am on fraud charges, but involved international travel to say the least. Served time in California and Canada and have 3 months until my full expiry.
I also have a weekly pre-arranged parole meeting, once per week, along with once a month sign in at Police. Also have a Corrections Canada counselor I see once a week. Along with full financial disclosure, and no criminal association.