Aboriginals and the Canadian Justice System

The System In Canada, if you have been convicted of a crime you can be given a suspended sentence or sent to one of two locations Prison Jail What determines where you will be sent depends on the length of the sentence you receive. Jails are for those people sentenced for a term not exceeding two years. Prisons are for those sentenced for a term exceeding two years.

Why do People Commit Crime People who study human interaction and society (Sociologists) have studied for years why people misbehave. There have some consistencies in what they found. Poverty Education Marginalisation Traumatic Upbringing These factors are common, and perhaps exemplified by the experiences of some Aboriginal communities.

Education Statistics Canada has found that education can influence the risk of criminal behaviour According to the 2006 Census, 38% of Aboriginal people aged 20 years and over had not completed high school, compared to 19% of non-Aboriginal people. So What!!! Just because you don’t have a diploma? the incarceration rate among Aboriginal young adults in Alberta without a high school diploma and employment was 46.1 per 1,000 compared to 2.4 per 1,000 population for those with a high school diploma and a job

Unemployment Unemployment is also a key factor in causing people to commit crimes. In 2006, the unemployment rate among Aboriginal people was 14%, compared to 6% among non-Aboriginal people. An analysis of census data (1986) provides a disturbing overview of the depth of Aboriginal poverty. The reported average income of persons with "total Aboriginal origins" in Manitoba is $10,672, compared to the average income of $16,796 for the province as a whole. There were 21.8% of status Indians who reported no income, compared to 11.5% of the total Manitoba population.

Poverty According to a Winnipeg study, more than one-half of Aboriginal households in the city exist below the poverty line, compared to about 20% of non-Aboriginal household According to the 1986 census, the labour force participation rate for Indians on reserves (those employed or included in unemployment statistics) averaged 53%, compared to 66.6% for non-Indian persons. The unemployment rate for Manitoba’s Indian population was 26.3%, compared to 7.6% for the total provincial population. The actual rate of unemployment among Aboriginal people in some communities is two to three times higher than that.

Poverty The Indian death rate for persons between 25 and 44 years of age is five times higher than the non-Indian rate. For Indian men, the average age at death is 25 years younger than for non-Indian men. For Indian women, it is 28 years younger. Infant mortality rates also are higher, as are dietary problems. The suicide rate for Indian persons is more than double the non-Indian rate. In Manitoba, only 40% of Indian homes have central heating, compared to 82% for non-Indian homes. Only 44% of Indian dwellings on-reserve, and 34% of Manitoba’s total Indian population, have indoor plumbing. This is well below the national average for Indian homes of 82%, and the non-Indian average of 94%.

Incarceration rate, by employment and education status, population aged 20 to 34, Alberta, 2006

Is this important? According to the 2006 Census, 3.1% of adults 18 years or older in Canada self-identified themselves as Aboriginal In 2007/2008, Aboriginal adults accounted for 17% of adults admitted to remand, 18% admitted to provincial and territorial custody

Traumatic Upbringing Interviews of 323 randomly selected federal offenders demonstrated that Aboriginal offenders were more likely to have experienced family disruption, childhood instability and poor relations with family members than non-Aboriginal offenders. A study of 556 federally-incarcerated Aboriginal offenders found that 45% of respondents had experienced physical abuse and 21% had experienced sexual violence during their childhood.

What Puts Them in Jail First Nations are more likely to be incarcerated for homicide than non-Aboriginal offenders (28% versus 24%) but less likely to be given a sentence for murder (2% versus 5%). Aboriginals are more likely to be imprisoned for an assault-related offence when compared to non- Aboriginal offenders. 40% of Inuit, 39% of First Nations and 33% of Métis have a current conviction for a major assault-related crime, compared to 26% non-Aboriginal offenders.

Is it Really Unique? National crime rates for Indian bands are available from the Department of Indian Affairs. According to the department, the national crime rate is 92.7 per 1,000 population, while the crime rate for Indian bands is per 1,000 population (1.8 times the national rate). Nationally, the violent crime rate is 9.0 per 1,000, while for Indian bands the violent crime rate is 33.1 per 1,000 (3.67 times the national rate). Departmental figures also make it clear that members of Indian bands are far more likely to be the victims of violent crime than other Canadians. Hyde and LaPrairie found that a very high proportion of Aboriginal violent crimes were directed against family members—a minimum of 41.4%. The actual figure may be much higher, because in another 50.2%

Regional Differences Variation exists across the country with over-representation more an issue in the Prairies, B.C. and Territories, and less so in Ontario, Quebec and Maritimes. Correctional data reveal that the incarceration of aboriginal people in provincial and territorial institutions west of the Manitoba\Ontario border is 2.8 times higher than east of this border, although the aboriginal population in the western region is only 1.5 times greater than in the east. Aboriginal people incarcerated in provincial institutions, in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba comprised 64% of all incarcerated aboriginal people in , although aboriginal people in these provinces comprise only 37% of the total aboriginal population. Mi’kmaq in prison represents 3% of the jail and Prison population, which is in line with their percentage of total population.

TABLE 2 ABORIGINAL AND NON-ABORIGINAL HOMICIDE SUSPECT AND VICTIM RATES PER 100,000 POPULATION* BY SELECT CITIES, POLICE FORCES ** ·

If you accept our assertion that much of the root cause of Indian peoples’ disproportionate conflict with the justice system lies in their poverty and marginal position in Canadian society, then what do you think is going to happen in the next 10 or 20 years, if radical changes do not occur? Ovide Mercredi

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