Indigenous Overrepresentation in Criminal Justice System .pptx

This presentation on Indigenous overrepresentation in the criminal justice system explores systemic factors leading to disproportionate rates of Indigenous incarceration. It highlights historical injustices, socio-economic disparities, and biases within legal frameworks as key contributors. The impact on Indigenous communities includes loss of cultural identity and barriers to rehabilitation. The presentation calls for reforms emphasizing cultural competency, community-led initiatives, and equitable access to justice. Ultimately, it advocates for policies that respect Indigenous rights and promote reconciliation to address this pressing issue.

1. Indigenous Overrepresentation in the Criminal Justice System Masoud Zamani Ph.D.

2. 1. What Indigenous OVERREPRESENTATION IS? 2. What explains indigenous overrepresentation

3. Meet Angeline ‘I am an indigenous treaty person from Treaty 6 Territory Saskatchewan. I grew up in Saskatoon. I am a Sixties Scoop survivor.’ At age 6, ‘I was physically abused by a neighbor.’ Between ages 8 and 17, ‘I experience domestic violence and at in my fourteens, I turned to alcohol to cope and that brought me into contact with the criminal justice system.’ Stuck in an abusive relationship in my thirties, ‘I had to show self-defence against my abuser for which I received domestic violence charges.’ (Perrin, 2023). Justice Canada: ‘Overrepresentation of indigenous women in Canada is linked to their victimization.’

4. Indigenous Overrepresentation Indigenous people are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system, with higher rates of victimization and involvement as accused or convicted individuals. Despite accounting for approximately 5% of the adult population, Indigenous Peoples continue to be overrepresented in the federal correctional system, accounting for 28% of all federally sentenced individuals and 32% of all individuals in custody; and Indigenous women account for 50% of all federally incarcerated women. https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/trnsprnc/brfng-mtrls/prlmntry-bndrs/20230720/12-en.aspx

5. Tip of the iceberg Canada Supreme Court in R. v. Gladue (1999): ‘Not surprisingly, the excessive imprisonment of aboriginal people is only the tip of the iceberg insofar as the estrangement of the aboriginal peoples from the Canadian criminal justice system is concerned. Aboriginal people are overrepresented in virtually all aspects of the system.’

6. Colonization Dispossession of land Racist and discriminatory policies –The Indian Act Dehumanization --- Jail time was used to prohibit indigenous religious and legal ceremonies, festivals and dances. Introduction and subsequent prohibition of addictive substances The colonial policies instilled a sense of frustration and trauma-induced anger that still exists today.

7. Residential schools The Canadian residential school system forcibly took 150,000+ Indigenous children, resulting in over 3,200 documented student deaths. Widespread abuse within these institutions has contributed to intergenerational trauma, correlating with higher rates of substance abuse, poverty, and involvement in the criminal justice system among Indigenous communities. ‘The attempted assimilation of Indigenous students left them disoriented and insecure, with the feeling that they belonged to neither Indigenous nor settler society.’ (Miller, 2012) Painful history of residential school system and Scoop have created a legacy of intergenerational collective trauma.

8. Intergenerational trauma Correctional Service of Canada’s Research: ‘Half of the indigenous offenders involved in in the Aboriginal Offender Substance Abuse Program had been in the care of the child welfare system – 71 percent had spent time in foster care and 39 percent in a group home.’ The federal Correctional Investigator: ‘It is almost impossible to estimate the extent of the negative intergenerational impacts of the residential school experience. The consequences have been complex: 1. Physical and mental health problems 2. alcohol and drug abuse 3. cognitive impairment, 4. interpersonal violence, and suicide. https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/jr/oip-cjs/p4.html Indigenous People often say they lost their parenting skills through the residential school experience.

9. Adverse Childhood EXPERT SURVEY (aces) ACES identifies potentially traumatic events experienced under eighteen years of age: physical, emotional, and sexual abuse; emotional neglect; poverty; parental separation; living with a family member with mental illness or substance use issues; family violence; and having a family member imprisoned. Criminologists have also long observed correlations between exposure to ACEs and criminal behavior. Children who are exposed to violence are more likely to commit violence themselves later: “childhood maltreatment … increases the risk of later criminality by approximately 50%.” Not surprisingly, higher ACEs also increase the risk of incarceration.“ ACEs not only increase the chances of involvement in the juvenile justice system but increase the risk of re-offense.” (Perrin, 2023)

10. Systemic racism Systematic discrimination can be seen in all phases of the criminal justice system: 1. Policing, 2. Corrections and 3. Courts. 2018 data: Indigenous women were nine times more likely to be checked by police than their proportion of the female population in the city. Indigenous men were eleven times more likely, to be checked by police than their proportion of the city’s population. An Indigenous person in Canada is more than 10 times more likely to have been shot and killed by a police officer in Canada since 2017 than a white person in Canada. (Perrin, 2023)

11. Think of Angeline what types of trauma did she experience?

12. Sources Perrin. B, Indictment: Criminal Justice System on Trial (2023) Perrin. B, Overdose: Heartbreak and Hope in Canada’s Opioid Crisis Clark. S, ‘Report on Overrepresentation of Indigenous People in the Canadian Criminal Justice System: Causes and Responses’ Miller, J.R., "Residential Schools," Encyclopedia of Canada Cases: R v. Gladue, [1999] 1 S.C.R. 688.

13. Thank you