If you are facing breach of probation charges, you need a criminal defence lawyer in Calgary to look at your case as soon as possible.

A breach offence is when someone fails to follow conditions set by a court order. The most common breach offences involve not following bail conditions, probation orders, or court-ordered release terms.

Breach offences are classified as hybrid offences, which means the Crown prosecutor can choose to treat them as either indictable (more serious) or summary (less serious) offences, depending on the circumstances.

If prosecuted as an indictable offence, the maximum punishment is imprisonment for up to two years. If prosecuted summarily, the maximum punishment is imprisonment for up to six months and/or a fine of up to $5,000.

Strategic Criminal Defence is a top Google-rated criminal defence firm in Calgary, with over 500 5-star reviews. Our firm, and our experienced legal team, have defended clients in over 10,000 criminal cases. Leveraging our extensive network of lawyers and decades of experience, we craft defence strategies to help those accused of breach of probation beat the charge.

The lawyers at Strategic Criminal Defence are both highly experienced and dedicated to defending your rights and future in the face of these charges. Contact a lawyer today by calling (403) 719-6410.

Key Takeaways

  • If you don’t follow the rules set by a court in bail orders, probation orders, or release conditions, you are committing a breach offence.
  • More specifically, breaking curfew, talking to people you shouldn’t, or missing court dates can all lead to breach charges.
  • Breach charges are very serious in court. Even if your original charge was minor, courts see it as disrespecting the court’s authority.
  • Breach of probation offences are hybrid, which means they can be charged as either indictable (up to 2 years in jail) or summary (up to 6 months in jail and/or a $5,000 fine).
  • If you are charged with a breach of probation, it will be much harder to get bail, and any new bail conditions will probably be stricter than before.
  • House arrest, electronic monitoring, more frequent reporting, and higher cash deposits or surety amounts may all be part of new bail.
  • If you had a good reason for the breach (like a medical emergency), you can definitely beat breach of probation charges with the right legal defence.
  • Even if the evidence seems clear, many breach of probation charges are settled by talking to the Crown about lowering the charges or finding other ways to deal with the problem.

Breach of Probation and Other Offences

There are three main types of breaches you may be charged with:

  • Breach of Recognizance or Undertaking;
  • Breach of Probation; or
  • Breach of Conditional Sentence Order

Each type of breach is different and carries with it very different consequences.  It is therefore important to properly identify the type of breach alleged.

Breach & Failure to Comply

A breach or a failure to comply charges can be laid by police if you do not meet the requirement of your probation order or bail conditions. Any time that you are released from custody or given conditions as part of a sentence, police have the discretion to charge you with a criminal offence if you do not meet them. A breach may also arise from breaking conditions of a peace bond or recognizance.

Breach of Recognizance

A Breach of Recognizance or Undertaking refers to a breach of conditions of release. This may occur when you are still out on bail on charges that have not yet been resolved, and you have been accused of breaching the terms of your release. These beaches also include charges for Failing to Appear in Court, and Failing to Appear for Identification. A particularly damaging consequence of this type of charge is that you may lose the bail money you put up on your substantive charges.  A conviction for this offence also carries its own penalties and will be registered on your criminal record.

Breach of Probation

A Breach of Probation refers to a breach of conditions of sentence. This occurs once you have completed a matter and have been placed on probation as punishment for the underlying offence. A finding of guilt for this offence will usually result in a conviction being registered on your criminal record and a fine or jail sentence being imposed. In rare cases, you may be re-sentenced on the original charges for which you had received probation.

Breach of Conditional Sentence Order

A Breach of a Conditional Sentence Order refers to a breach of conditions of a house arrest sentence. Unlike a Breach of Probation, a finding that you have in fact breached the conditions does not result in a criminal record. However, a finding that one of the conditions has been breach creates a significant risk that you will spend the rest of the house arrest sentence in actual jail. Moreover, until the matter is decided, your house arrest sentence is suspended, and the duration of the sentence is in effect extended even longer. This type of breach will likely have the most serious implications for you and should be taken very seriously.

How Our Lawyers Help With a Breach of Probation Charge

When you are charged with breaching your probation, our lawyers can help.

We know that a lot of breaches happen because of misunderstandings, emergencies, or practical problems, not because someone is trying to be disrespectful to the court.

  • We can give you legal advice before charges are filed about how to document your reasons for any possible breach and whether you should talk to your bail supervisor or probation officer about the situation before it escalates. This early action can sometimes keep charges from being filed at all.
  • We can keep you safe from self-incrimination by stopping you from saying things that could hurt you.
  • To build a reasonable excuse defence, we can obtain medical records that prove your emergency. If this was simply a misunderstanding of your conditions, we can look for evidence of that as well.
  • We will help you get through the criminal justice system by filing requests to change conditions you can’t follow, representing you at bail hearings, and talking to prosecutors.
  • During a trial or hearing, we can represent you by effectively showing that you had a good reason for breaching or that you didn’t mean to in the first place.

Examples of Breach of Probation Offences

Here are some situations where people do not follow their conditions and are charged with breaching:

  • A man was charged with assault and let go on bail, but he had to stay home every day from 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM. At 11:30 PM one night, his sister called to say that her car had broken down. He left his house to help her, but the police stopped him on the way home at 12:45 AM because his taillight was broken. They found out what his bail conditions were when they looked at his ID. He told the police about his sister’s emergency, but they still arrested him and charged him with breaking his bail conditions.
  • The woman who was arrested of stealing from a store and then released, didn’t show up to court for her next appearance because she wrote down the wrong date. The judge issued a bench warrant . Two weeks later, the police stopped her for jaywalking and found the warrant. The woman showed the officer her calendar with the wrong date on it, but she was still arrested and charged with breaching her condition.
  • A student was out on bail and had to stay at least 200 meters away from a mall where he was caught shoplifting. The mall’s security cameras caught the student waiting for a bus outside. The mall’s security guards knew who the student was and called the cops. Even though the student was only passing through the area and waiting for public transportation, he was charged with breaking his bail conditions.

Consequences of a Breach of Probation Offence

Breaching a probation order in Canada is a hybrid offence. 

  • This means that the Crown prosecutor can decide to go ahead with an indictment (more serious) or a summary conviction (less serious), depending on the details of your case.
  • The prosecutor usually looks at things like how serious your breach was, whether it was on purpose, if it’s your first breach, and your whole criminal record.
  • If your breach charge is prosecuted by indictment, the maximum jail sentence is 4 years for breaching a probation order.
  • If prosecuted as a summary offence, the maximum jail sentence is 2 years for most probation breaches.

Breach of probation convictions can make it harder to get probation in the future. They can also lead to harsher sentences for the crime you were originally charged with. It’s important to know that a breach of probation charge goes on your criminal record, in addition to the original charge.

Breach of Probation Offence Defences

If you are accused of breaching a probation requirement, it may feel like the court system is against you. But there are some legal defences that can help.

There are some common defences that might apply to you:

  • Reasonable Excuse: This defence understands that sometimes unusual situations make it impossible to follow probation orders, even if you really wanted to. This will require evidence to support your defence, such as, witnesses, documents to support it, and/or medical records.
  • Identity: In some breach of probation cases, especially those involving breaking curfew or going into a no-go zone, the Crown must show beyond a reasonable doubt that you were the one who broke the condition. If identity is unclear, this could be a defence in your favour.
  • Charter Rights: Even if you did break your probation conditions, you might have a defence based on violations of your Charter rights during the investigation or arrest process. If the police violated your rights, the evidence against you might not be used or the charges might be dropped.

Breach of Probation Charge Investigation

Most of the time, an investigation into a possible probation violation starts when someone reports it. 

  • A police officer might see you in a place you shouldn’t be, a probation officer might see you miss a meeting, or a protected person might tell the police that you contacted them.
  • The police will first get a copy of your probation order so they know what conditions you are under.
  • The police might come to your house at random times to make sure you’re following your conditions, including checking to see if you break your curfew.
  • They keep a record of when you’re found to not be home after curfew as proof.
  • For no-contact orders, investigators collect text messages, social media messages, witness statements, or security camera footage that shows you contacted the other person named in the no-contact order.
  • Police will talk to anyone who saw the alleged breach, and they might seek to speak with you as well.
  • They will also check to see if you were properly served with your conditions and if you understood them.

Officers can generally arrest you as soon as they find you are breaching your probation conditions and you may not be re-released. Then they write a summary of the evidence for the Crown prosecutor. The prosecutor then decides whether to file formal charges based on how likely it is that you will be found guilty.

Bail Conditions for Breach of Probation Charges

If you are accused of breaching your probation, it is harder to get out on bail and receive probation again, than it was for your original charge. 

  • If bail is granted, this usually means that the person has to check in with their bail supervisor more often, maybe once a week instead of once a month.
  • If you breached your conditions by being somewhere you shouldn’t have been or breaking a curfew, your new bail conditions will probably include stricter rules about when you can leave your home or have an earlier curfew.
  • In serious situations, you might have to stay in your residence all day except for things like going to work, seeing the doctor, or meeting with your lawyer.
  • Courts often make you wear an electronic monitoring device if you’ve breached significant conditions multiple times. The connected monitoring service will tell the police if you leave approved areas or break your curfew.
  • Even if the crime you were accused of didn’t have anything to do with drugs or alcohol, courts will often also require that you do not drink or use drugs while you’re out on bail. You might have to take drug tests or breath tests if the police or your bail supervisor tell you to.

For more information, visit our page on The Bail Hearing Process in Calgary.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you don’t follow the rules set for your probation, you will be charged with breaching it.

Some common examples are:

  • Not being home when you’re supposed to be (breaking curfew)
  • Getting in touch with someone you were told not to
  • Going to places you aren’t allowed to go
  • Consuming alcohol or drugs when you’re not supposed to
  • Missing a court date
  • Not reporting to your probation officer

Yes, you can potentially go to jail for breaching a probation condition even if it was for a good reason, but these factors are extremely important to your defence.

If you had a legitimate reason for breaching your probation conditions, like a medical emergency, you might be found not guilty. However, the court has a high standard for what qualifies as “reasonable.”

You can ask to change probation conditions that are too hard to follow, but you will have to go through the legal process to do so. Our lawyers can talk to the Crown and explain why some of the conditions are too hard. If the Crown agrees, our lawyers can also ask a judge for the changes. This method works best when you’ve been following all of your other rules perfectly and can show how the problem condition has made things unreasonably hard for you, for a valid reason.