Is ethnicity or foreign-born status relevant?

Examining data by socio-demographic characteristics can help the Correctional Service of Canada identify offender subgroups with unique needs. As examples, Aboriginal and women offenders have long been identified as requiring more intensive and/or tailored interventions. This research examines whether ethnicity and foreign-born status are useful for identifying offender needs. Since ethnicity and foreign-born status may actually interact, a classification that combines the two concepts was used.

All incarcerated non-Aboriginal men under federal jurisdiction as of November 21, 2010 were categorized by ethnicity and foreign-born status as follows: Canadian-born white, Canadian-born non-white, foreign-born white, and foreign-born non-white. Aboriginal men were excluded because they are already recognized as a distinct subgroup, and women were excluded due to their small overall size. The defined subgroups were then compared with respect to demographics, and risk and need scores. The risk score captures an offender’s criminal history (i.e., number, type, and severity of offences); it is useful for assessing the risk an offender poses to society. The need score captures the extent of an offender’s need for intervention in various domains, such as employment and substance abuse.

Both Canadian and foreign-born non-white men are more likely to be younger and married compared to their white counterparts suggesting the potential for greater family support (see Table). Foreign-born white men are the most educated. Speaking a language other than English or French at home is most common among foreign-born inmates indicating a greater potential for language-barriers in the correctional environment. Finally, compared to Canadian-born white men, non-white or foreign-born men do not have greater risk or need scores at the initiation of their current sentence.

Note. Percentages may not total to 100 due to rounding. Non-whites include Arab/West Asian, Asiatic, Black, Chinese, East Indian, Filipino, Hispanic, Japanese, Korean, Latin American, South Asian, South East Asian, and other.