Prevalence Rates of Security Threat Group (STG) Affiliation Among Offenders Over Time: Year-End Snapshots Between FY 2015 to 2016 and FY 2024 to 2025
Highlight: Overall, 10% of federal offenders at men’s sites were STG affiliated; the prevalence at women’s sites has increased (3% to 8%).
Number: RIB-26-01
Date: 08-06-2026
Alternative format:
Why we did this study
The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) is developing a national strategy for Security Threat Groups (STGs)Footnote 1 in order to identify and address possible barriers to rehabilitation and reintegration for these offenders as well as to safely manage them throughout their sentence. This study examined the prevalence of STG affiliated offenders over time to inform the STG strategy.
What we did
Year-end snapshots of federal offenders in custody and in the community between fiscal year (FY) 2015 to 2016 and 2024 to 2025 were extracted from CSC’s Corporate Reporting System-Modernized. STG affiliationFootnote 2 and ethnocultural group were analyzed. Offenders were examined separately based on their in-custody institution or community supervision location (men’s or women’s).
What we found
Examining the entire federal offender population indicates that the prevalence of STG affiliation among men has remained stable during the study period (10% to 11%, see Figure). However, the prevalence of STG affiliated women has risen from 3% to 8% during the same timeframe.
Figure text description
This line charts shows the prevalence rates of STG affiliated offenders compared to the general offender population for each fiscal year end from FY2015 to 2016 until FY2024 to 2025. The solid blue line shows a stable prevalence of STG affiliation compared to the general offender population (both in-custody and in the community) of 10% to 11% over the time period. Among the men offender population, the dashed red line also shows a steady STG prevalence rate during the study period of 10% to 11%. Among the women offender population, the dotted green line shows an increase in the prevalence of STG affiliation, from 3% in FY2015 to 2016 to 8% in FY2024 to 2025.
In-custody. STG prevalence at men’s sites has been stable in the last five years (see Table 1). An increase in the prevalence of STG affiliated offenders at women’s institutions was evident (see Table 2), particularly for Indigenous offenders (increased from 16% to 22%).
| Offenders at Men’s Institutions | FY 2020 to 2021 | FY 2021 to 2022 | FY 2022 to 2023 | FY 2023 to 2024 | FY 2024 to 2025 |
| All Men | 13% | 13% | 13% | 12% | 11% |
| Indigenous Men | 24% | 22% | 22% | 21% | 20% |
| Black Men | 23% | 23% | 23% | 22% | 21% |
| Non-Indigenous / Non-Black Men |
6% | 6% | 6% | 6% | 5% |
| Offenders at Women’s Institutions | FY 2020 to 2021 | FY 2021 to 2022 | FY 2022 to 2023 | FY 2023 to 2024 | FY 2024 to 2025 |
| All Women | 8% | 10% | 11% | 11% | 11% |
| Indigenous Women | 16% | 17% | 20% | 20% | 22% |
| Non-Indigenous Women | 1% | 2% | 2% | 1% | 2% |
Community. About 7% of offenders under community supervision were STG affiliated during the study period. The only significant change in prevalence was for Indigenous women, with 7% STG affiliated in FY2015 to 2016 compared to a high of 13% in FY2023 to 2024 before decreasing to 11% in FY2024 to 2025.
What it means
The results demonstrate that the overall prevalence of STG affiliated offenders has remained relatively stable over the last decade, however, the prevalence of STG affiliated offenders at women’s institutions has increased, particularly for Indigenous offenders.
For more information
Please e-mail the Research Branch at research@csc-scc.gc.ca. You can also visit the Research Publications section for a full list of reports and one-page summaries.
Prepared by: Shanna Farrell MacDonald and Sarah Cram