Issues in Canada's Prison System Statistics - 2015/2016 PDF

**Issues in Canada's Prison System: Statistics from the Government of Canada** **Indigenous Canadians are over-represented in the CJS** Although police and courts statistics are not available by Indigenous identity, corrections data shows that Indigenous adults accounted for 28% of admissions to f...

**Issues in Canada's Prison System: Statistics from the Government of Canada** **Indigenous Canadians are over-represented in the CJS** Although police and courts statistics are not available by Indigenous identity, corrections data shows that Indigenous adults accounted for 28% of admissions to federal custody and 27% of admissions in provincial/territorial custody in 2015/2016 while comprising 4.1% of the Canadian adult population. Indigenous women accounted for 31% of admissions to federal and 38% of admissions to provincial/territorial custody (compared to 23% and 26% for Indigenous men respectively). At provincial/territorial levels, the overrepresentation of Indigenous offenders exceeds their proportion of the general population from double to almost seven times (refer to Figure 5). **Figure 5. Percentage Indigenous adult admissions to custody and general population by province/territory,** **2015/16** A graph of a number of people Description automatically generated **Sources**: Statistics Canada. Adult correctional services, custodial admissions to provincial and territorial programs by aboriginal identity (CANSIM Table 251-0022); Census 2016. Custom tabulation prepared by Justice Canada. 1. In what ways is the data presented here problematic? In terms of those represented in our prisons? Indigenous peoples are also disproportionately victims of criminal incidents: 28% of Indigenous people living in the provinces and territories reported being the victim of one of the eight types of offences measured by the 2014 GSS (compared to 18% of non-Indigenous people). They were also more than twice as likely as non-Indigenous people to report being a victim of spousal violence (9% versus 4% respectively) and Indigenous people were victims of homicide at a rate six times higher than that of non-Indigenous people (7.2 versus 1.13 per 100,000 population respectively). 2. In what ways is the data presented in this section problematic? **Large proportion of Chronic Offending** A disproportionate amount of criminal activity, particularly for property and administration of justice offences, is committed by a small number of offenders. Often, these 'chronic offenders' experience substance abuse and mental health concerns, and are disproportionately Indigenous. In British Columbia, more than two-in-three offenders in 2012 were re-offenders; 40% had 10 or more convictions, and five per cent had 24 or more convictions over 10 years. In 2015, property offences (e.g., theft under \$5,000, mischief) and administration of justice offences accounted for 71% of all police-reported violations. Statistics Canada indicated that 64% of persons with police contact in Saskatchewan had at least one re-contact with police, and that 21% of persons were responsible for 57% of offences over a three-year period (from 2009/10 to 2011/12). 3. Who is most likely to reoffend? 4. In what ways does intersectionality affect those who reoffend? **High rates of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Problems** There is significant overrepresentation of accused with mental health/developmental disorders and substance abuse problems in the CJS. In 2012, 34% of Canadians with a mental or substance use disorder reported coming into contact with police, twice as many as those without a disorder (17%). Police have noted an increase in calls for service, a significant percentage of which include incidents related to mental health and addiction issues. In cases like these, police become the default responder. There are various responses from the CJS to address these issues, including specialised courts and diversion programs. These programs are located primarily in larger cities and deal with only a small proportion of accused/offenders with mental health/substance abuse problems. Some research studies have found that graduates of drug treatment and mental health courts re-offend at lower rates than offenders processed through the traditional CJS; however, many participants in specialised programs do not graduate from these programs. 5. Why are those with mental health concerns and substance abuse problems very likely to offend? 6. Why do you think the government of Canada grouped mental health concerns and substance abuse issues together in this section?