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.
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% |
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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