Youth and adult histories of federal offenders in custody: 2020

Research Highlights: Indigenous federal offenders have had more involvement than non-Indigenous in the criminal justice system.

Publication

No RIB-21-03

April 2021

Research in Brief- PDF

Why we did this study

The criminal record of every offender admitted and re-admitted to federal custody is systematically documented at time of admission for prior youth (<18) and/or adult history. Indicators gathered include convictions, court dispositions and outcomes. These variables are an element of objective assessment procedures that serve as part of the overall decision-making for classifying criminal offenders globally.

What we did

Correctional Service Canada’s intake assessment and correctional planning process standardizes the recording of previous exposure to the criminal justice system and corrections in the Offender Management System (OMS). Data were drawn from the Criminal History Record section at mid-year 2020-21 for the federal in-custody population. Indicators were available for the majority of Indigenous and non-Indigenous offenders. Missing data are due to legacy and in-progress cases.

What we found

OMS-reported data show that both Indigenous men and women in federal custody have higher rates of previous youth and adult histories than non-Indigenous.

Percentage Youth and Adult History: Men
Indicator Indigenous
(3,347)
Non-Indigenous
(7,182)
Previous Offence - Youth 65.8% 42.1%
Type of Convictions
ScheduledFootnote 1 43.4% 25.9%
Youth Court Dispositions
Community supervision 61.8% 37.7%
Open custody 33.2% 18.7%
Secure custody 40.7% 32.0%
Previous Offences-Adult 88.9% 78.1%
Type of Convictions
Scheduled 77.0% 63.4%
Adult Court Dispositions
Community supervision 81.0% 68.9%
Provincial Terms 80.5% 64.4%
Federal Terms 36.2% 30.2%
Previous Disciplinary Infractions 43.5% 33.6%
Previous Attempt/UAL/Escape 22.9% 18.3%
Percentage Youth and Adult History: Women
Indicator Indigenous
(238)
Non-Indigenous
(297)
Previous Offences - Youth 39.1% 17.5%
Type of Convictions
ScheduledFootnote 2 28.8% 9.8%
Youth Court Dispositions
Community supervision 33.8% 15.9%
Open custody 14.4% 15.9%
Secure custody 15.4% 6.5%
Previous Offences-Adult 80.1% 57.0%
Type of Convictions
Scheduled 59.7% 35.0%
Youth Court Dispositions
Community supervision 73.3% 49.3%
Provincial Terms 63.9% 41.0%
Federal Terms 13.1% 10.7%
Previous Disciplinary Infractions 26.2% 10.6%
Previous Attempt/UAL/Escape 11.1% 9.8%

What it means

The disproportionate representation of Indigenous people in federal custody may partly be attributed to disparity in more youth and adult history in the criminal justice system and thus sustained efforts are needed to improve safe reintegration results. More criminal justice and community development work is required to mitigate against previous exposure to the criminal justice system and corrections environment with a culturally sensitive focus for Indigenous offenders.

For more information

Please e-mail the Research Branch or contact us by phone at (613) 995-3975.

You can also visit the Research Publications section for a full list of reports and one-page summaries.

Prepared by: Larry Motiuk and Leslie-Anne Keown

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