Overrepresentation of Certain Groups in Federal Institutions
Date: June 15, 2020
Classification: Unclassified
Fully releasable (ATIP)? Yes
Branch / Agency: CSC
Issue:
Discussions are taking place about systemic racism in the criminal justice system. There is an overrepresentation of Indigenous offenders in Correctional Service of Canada institutions. The Service also recognizes that there are specific needs for other ethnocultural populations, such as Black offenders.
Proposed Response:
- We must acknowledge that Indigenous people, Black Canadians and other racialized people far too often experience systemic racism and disparate outcomes within the criminal justice system.
- There is an unacceptable overrepresentation of Indigenous and Black Canadians in our criminal justice system and correctional institutions.
- This is a systemic reflection of the disparities that we must all work to fix. Not just at the Correctional Service of Canada, but at all levels of society and our criminal justice system.
- It is up to all of us who work within the criminal justice system to take whatever steps are necessary to produce more equitable outcomes.
- As an organization, the Service has been working hard to address this when inmates come to us.
- Once in the Service’s custody, offenders are provided with culturally responsive services, programming and interventions to address their risk and aid in their rehabilitation and community reintegration.
- Providing effective and culturally appropriate correctional and reintegration support for Indigenous offenders is crucial. For that reason, doing so has been a Correctional Service of Canada corporate priority for more than a decade.
- The Correctional Service of Canada acknowledges that Black offenders are second to the indigenous population in terms of overrepresentation, comprising almost 9 per cent of the total federal offender population.
- For that reason, the Service is currently studying the experiences of ethnocultural offenders, including Black offenders, who are under our care. This is part of our commitment to listen to the lived experiences of racialized offenders to inform how we do our work.
- Additionally, ethnocultural advisory committees ensure that the voices of minority communities are heard while we carry out the important job of keeping Canadians safe.
- We know there is more work to do – and we need to listen, learn and work harder with our partners at all levels of society to acknowledge and overcome the systemic issues that lead to these outcomes.
Background:
The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) continues to observe an increase in the number of federally sentenced Indigenous offenders. CSC also recognizes that there are specific needs for other ethnocultural offender populations, such as Black offenders.
Indigenous Offenders
CSC continues to observe an increase in the number of federally sentenced Indigenous offenders. At the end of Fiscal year 2019-2020, Indigenous offenders represented 30% of the total in custody population and Indigenous women offenders represented 44% of the total in custody women population.
CSC is working to respond to the disproportionate representation of Indigenous peoples in custody, through a variety of programs such as:
- The National Indigenous Plan which includes streamlining existing Indigenous resources and services to ensure that those offenders choosing to access the Indigenous Continuum of Care interventions are prioritized for placement at specific sites.
- Indigenous Interventions Centres (IICs) are a key component of regional Indigenous action plans. The IICs integrate intake, programs and interventions, and engage Indigenous communities at the start of an Indigenous offender’s sentence, or at least two years before their first eligibility date.
- CSC has implemented the Pathways Initiative for offenders who are committed to following an intensive traditional path of healing which includes the active involvement of Elders. The Indigenous Women’s Pathways Continuum provides opportunities for Indigenous women to engage in intensive healing interventions supported by Elders through specific activities.
- The Indigenous Women Offender Correctional Programs, which includes program continuum unique to Indigenous women offenders.
Decisions with respect to sentencing are outside of CSC’s control. CSC does, however, influence the time Indigenous offenders spend in custody by providing culturally responsive programs and interventions to address an Indigenous offender’s risk, provide effective rehabilitation and foster successful community reintegration. There has been a significant increase in the percentage of discretionary releases for Indigenous offenders, from 23.5% in Fiscal year 2013-2014 to 40.1% in Fiscal year 2019-2020. Additionally, CSC makes targeted efforts to recruit and retain Indigenous employees. CSC is one of the largest employers of Indigenous peoples in the core public administration.
Black Offenders
8.8% of incarcerated offenders were Black at the end of 2019-20, while 7.1% of offenders supervised in the community were Black. From 2015-2016 to 2019-2020, the proportional decrease of incarcerated Caucasian offenders was 17.0%, and incarcerated Black offenders showed a decrease of 3.2% during the same period.
CSC is conducting research to better understand the experience of ethnocultural offenders under its care, including Black offenders. This multi year project has already highlighted the profile and diversity of this population and Emerging Research Results were produced in 2019. CSC is presently looking at aspects of the in-custody experience, including participation in correctional programs, education, employment, etc. CSC will also be studying how ethnocultural offenders are reintegrating in the community, in terms of program participation, employment opportunities and successful completion of sentence. It is anticipated that the full research report will be available in the Fall of 2020.
CSC invested $20,000 for this project, in addition to approximately a 1.5 full time employee equivalent from CSC’s Research Branch (combination of research managers, analysts and students). CSC used a combination of internal and external resources, in collaboration with Nipissing University. In addition to professional internal research capacity, CSC maintains positive collaborations with several Canadian universities for the purpose of conducting studies, researches, and reviews. This allows CSC to maintain the highest standards of research.
Currently, Black offenders are offered a comprehensive level of varied interventions and services, aimed at supporting their reintegration. These initiatives include: addressing cultural employment and mentorship needs; culturally relevant presentations from community members to offenders and staff; community outreach with community service providers; ongoing interventions by the Project officer, Community Engagement and Ethnocultural Services; the purchase of culturally-relevant materials; and implementation of initiatives aimed at increasing the cultural competency of staff.
Although there are no specific correctional programs for Black offenders, the enrolment and completion rates of Black offenders in the Integrated Correctional Program Model and the Women Offender Correctional Programs show positive participation. Also, certain institutions benefit from the participation and activities of inmate groups composed of mostly Black offenders. Groups such as Black Inmates and Friends Assembly (BIFA), Christian groups, Rastafarian groups, and Muslim groups bring awareness, educate and develop a sense of belonging and self-esteem among the Black offender population.
Contacts:
Prepared by: Raj Oberoi, Officer, Parliamentary Relations, 613-943-1726
Approved by: Kirstan Gagnon, Assistant Commissioner, Communications and Engagement, 613-995-6867
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