Bail Verification and Supervision Program (BVSP)

The Bail Verification and Supervision Program serves men and women aged 16 years or older who are accused of criminal offences and who are not deemed to be a threat to the community that qualify for bail, but do not have the finances or social ties to meet bail conditions. The Bail Program serves two principles upon which our democratic Justice system is based: the presumption of innocence before conviction and the fair equitable treatment of all people regardless of social and economic background.
The program aims to reduce the high numbers of people remanded into correctional facilities while awaiting trial. The services are delivered in partnership with local social service providers to address the non-criminal issues facing the accused such as addiction, mental and physical health, homelessness and unemployment.
The three major functions of the program are:
1. To identify the availability of a surety;
2. To provide verified neutral and factual information about an accused person at judicial interim release proceedings and to assist the court in selecting suitable candidates for bail and bail supervision;
3. To provide supervisory and referral services for people who are released from custody by the courts. An assessment is completed upon release. The result of the assessment is to help the client and the bail supervision counsellor in developing a case plan that can begin to address areas of concern that may have contributed to the alleged conduct.

John Howard Society of Thunder Bay: Main Office
315 S. Syndicate Ave.
Thunder Bay, ON
P7E 1E2