Black Incarceration in Canada

Week 3: Black, Racialized, and Indigenous Women in the CJS

• The week's focus is on Black, racialized, and Indigenous women within the Canadian Criminal Justice System (CJS).
• Office hours are on Wednesdays from 1-2 pm via Zoom.
• A midterm is scheduled for February 11th during class time.
• Case studies are due by the end of the week.

This Week's Outline

• Introduction to Indigenous women and the CJS
• R v Gladue
• Case: Terri-Lynn McClintic
• Carceral Redlining
• Effects of slavery
• Race and Racialization
• Policing of Black women

Introduction to BIPOC and the CJS

• In 2022/2023, Indigenous adults comprised 33% of federal custody admissions, despite comprising only 4% of the overall population.
• Indigenous women accounted for 49% of female admissions, and Indigenous men accounted for 32% of male admissions to the system.
• Indigenous youth make up 43% of all criminalized youth, but only comprise 8.8% of the population.
• Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) recognizes the need for improved programming specifically tailored to Indigenous needs.
• Healing lodges and cultural programming are currently being implemented, but their effectiveness is uncertain.

Colonialism and its Effects

• Colonialism is a multifaceted process involving territorial, cultural, linguistic, political, mental, spiritual, and economic domination of one group by another.
• Settler colonizers aim to eradicate the cultural identities of Indigenous peoples.
• The Sixties Scoop is an example of this, where Indigenous children were removed from their families and placed with non-Indigenous families.
• Colonialism is the primary factor driving Indigenous involvement in the CJS, linked to issues of discrimination, racism and marginalization.

Colonialism and its Effects - Systemic Discrimination

• Systemic discrimination refers to policies and practices of an institution designed to perpetuate racial inequality.
• Structural racism is exhibited through policies and practices that disadvantage people of color. These practices often lead to further racial inequalities across all facets of society.

Indigenous Peoples and the CJS

• Indigenous peoples are overrepresented in the CJS compared to non-Indigenous populations, according to federal government and OCI data.
• Indigenous individuals in the CJS are often younger and poorer than non-Indigenous individuals.
• They are more likely to be incarcerated for violent offenses, possess significant needs in employment, education, and health, and have higher instances of alcohol and drug abuse, physical abuse and neglect at a younger age than non-Indigenous counterparts.
• They commonly experience higher rates of trauma and intergenerational trauma.

Indigenous Women and the CJS

• Incarceration rates of Indigenous women increased by 131% between 1998 and 2008 and by 60% between 2008 and 2018.
• Indigenous women are incarcerated at a rate 12.5 times greater than non-Indigenous women.
• The average age of criminalized Indigenous women was 34 years in the stated period.
• The rate of self-injury is substantially higher for Indigenous women than for non-Indigenous women within the criminalized population.
• Data from 2012-2018 shows a higher average percentage of Indigenous women incarcerated in maximum security compared to other groups.
• This disparity is shown between those incarcerated in minimum security too.

1996 Reforms: Bill C-41

• Sentencing reform, introduced in 1996 via Bill C-41, aims to protect society by maintaining a just, peaceful society while acknowledging and adapting to the circumstances of Aboriginal offenders.
• The primary purpose of sentencing should consider alternatives to imprisonment where reasonable in relation both to the victims and the community.

R v Gladue, 1999

• R v Gladue established considerations for Indigenous offenders which must be taken into account during sentencing, particularly focusing on the unique background and systemic factors influencing Indigenous individuals.

R v. Ipeelee, 2012

• R v. Ipeelee reinforced the Gladue principles, outlining that courts should consider the broader intergenerational and systemic effects on Indigenous offenders, highlighting the need for alternatives to incarceration.

Application of Gladue

• Despite the intention of Section 718.2(e) to reduce incarceration, Indigenous women are still overrepresented within the system.
• Interpretation of Gladue principles differ across cases and regions.
• The application of these principles in sentencing, classification, and reclassification, and monitoring of healing lodges isn't consistent in application.
• Training gaps in applying Gladue principles may be a contributing factor.

Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge

• Opened in 1995, this facility is built to support Incarcerated Indigenous women.
• Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge is a 60-bed facility with 89 staff members that provides programming aimed at addressing underlying issues, promoting healing, and providing cultural sensitivity to those held within its walls.

Cultural Needs within Corrections

• The Aboriginal Women Offender Correctional Program (AWOCP) was introduced in 2010 and has three distinct programs, including engagement programs as well as moderate and high intensity programs.
• AWOCP is designed as a culturally sensitive and trauma-informed program utilizing elder-assisted programming.

Criticisms of Corrections

• Culturally inappropriate programs lack contextual relevance and understanding due to Indigenous perspectives.
• Indigenous programs are under-utilized due to low numbers of available Indigenous women.
• Legislated approaches to improving the reintegration of criminalized Indigenous people have limited implementation.
• Healing lodges are lacking in overall access, utilization, or oversight.

Case: "Child killer" Terri-Lynn McClintic

• In April 2009, Terri-Lynn McClintic was found responsible for the abduction, rape, and murder of 8-year-old Tori Stafford.
• She was sentenced to life imprisonment and was later transferred to Okimaw Ohci Healing Lodge but later transferred back to a traditional prison.
• Political controversies surrounded this case, including a motion to overturn the initial sentence.

Slavery

• Slavery was an accepted institution in Canada until 1833.
• Black people were brought to Nova Scotia for labor. -Slavery, a brutal system of oppression, existed in Canada, and wasn't solely a US phenomenon. Individuals involved in government, the military, as well as merchants, were amongst those who owned slaves.

Slavery Continued

• Control over Black women's bodies was prominent during slavery with stereotypes of undesirability and lack of femininity.
• The exploitation of Black women during slavery included societal labels/epithets as "Jezebels", and classifying Black women as hypersexual and sexually available, in order to rationalize, justify and facilitate their exploitation.

Omission of Black and Racialized Women from Criminology

• Early feminist theories often excluded analysis of Black women, focusing instead on stereotypes that labelled those who didn't fit the norm as "deviant".

Viola Desmond

• Viola Desmond challenged segregation and fought for equal rights for African-Nova Scotian Canadians.
• Her actions inspired the civil rights movement in Canada.

Redlining

• Redlining is a practice where portions of a map are "marked" to indicate which areas loans should not be facilitated. Real estate practices and laws historically denied people of color access to certain neighborhoods or loans.
• This practice has roots in residential redlining, which existed predominantly until 1968 due to the creation of homeownership programs, but these forms of redlining still persist in various forms today.

Carceral Redlining

• Carceral redlining refers to the operationalization of criminal justice practices against racialized communities. -Historical systemic racism is embodied in carceral practices, and this includes policies such as residential schools, that had the explicit intention of assimilation with the removal of Indigenous practices and family units.

Carceral Redlining and Mass Incarceration

• Despite a decrease in Canada's crime rate, incarceration rates of BIPOC populations continue to increase.
• Black prisoners are less frequently granted parole on average in comparison to other criminal populations.
• Indigenous and Black individuals are often marked as "undesirable" thereby increasing their rate of incarceration.

Targeting of POC

• Over-policing and targeting Indigenous and Black communities is a form of carceral redlining.
• Law enforcement's use of racial profiling creates a self-fulfilling prophecy.
• People of color are more likely to be identified as suspicious or criminals based on their color and/or ethnicity, increasing the likelihood of police scrutiny.
• Denial of racial profiling as a form of systemic racism perpetuates the cycle of injustice.

Racial Profiling

• Profiling leads to violence against people of color and inhibits their ability to move freely and safely in public spaces.
• Racial profiling may be evidenced as identity checks, searches, seizures, and car stops that disproportionately affect people of color.
• Carding, otherwise known as street checks, occurs when police use the practice of requesting individuals' identifying information, even when there is no reasonable cause or evidence of criminality.
• This practice has a significant effect, including over-policing and high rates in particular demographics.

Effects of Profiling

• Profiling significantly impacts communities by causing psychological distress and harm, including PTSD, anxiety, alienation, and fear of leaving one's house and increased fear of harassment.

Racialization and Racism

• Racialization is the process of categorizing and evaluating people along racial lines.
• Systemic anti-Black racism is a specific form of racial targeting that has long-lasting negative effects on Black Canadians.

Shadow Carceral State

• The Shadow Carceral has a large role in enacting punishment, such as surveillance, detention.
• This is evidenced through multiple systems including immigration, family courts, civil detention centers, and schools.

Incarceration of BIPOC

• Black prisoners represent 9.3% of the total federal prison population, but only 2.9% of the Canadian population.
• The number of incarcerated Black prisoners has increased by 75% in the last decade.

Provincially Sentenced Women

• Limited documentation exists regarding incarceration rates of Black and racialized women in Canada.
• Data on this population is often not released publicly.
• This lack of detailed data makes it challenging to accurately evaluate or analyze trends.

Federally Sentenced Women

• Insufficient research on the federal level has left substantial gaps in understanding incarceration trends among Black women.
• Black women represent a smaller percentage of the total Canadian female population, but their representation in federal incarceration is higher relative to other racial groups.

Abolition or Reformation

• Reformation focuses on reforming institutions associated with incarceration.
• Abolition aims at dismantling systems of incarceration, including prisons, as a means of achieving social justice. - Abolition takes a broader view and acknowledges that the very concept of incarceration may be perpetuating cycles of harm and inequities.

Next Week

• The following week's focus will be on female youth and Ashley Smith.
• Required readings, quizzes, and the next midterm are also noted.

This quiz explores the statistics and challenges surrounding Black incarceration in Canada, specifically focusing on Black women. It addresses concepts such as the Shadow Carceral State and abolitionist perspectives on the prison system. Test your knowledge on this critical social issue.