The Auditor General has released a scathing assessment of how the province manages adults in custody, as well as their release into the community.

The audit concludes that out-of-date or non-existent policies, inadequate assessments and serious gaps in rehabilitation and monitoring created risk for offenders and the public.

That includes the failure to carry out required drug and alcohol testing, adherence to various court orders, or checks to make sure offenders are following curfews while serving sentences or probation in the community.

As a result, AG Denise Hanrahan says officials had no way of knowing if offenders were being rehabilitated or properly monitored and managed.

Further, the audit notes that while updated legislation came close to being enacted more than a decade ago, it still hasn’t been passed, with staff relying on legislation from the 1970s.

The audit findings themselves are somewhat dated, covering the three-year period from January of 2017 to December of 2019.

The Department of Justice, meanwhile, agrees with the six recommendations, stressing draft regulations for new legislation “are being finalized.”