Incarceration of Aboriginal People in Adult Correctional Services

Yesterday, Statistics Canada released an article entitled The incarceration of Aboriginal people in adult correctional services.

The article looks at data on the representation of Aboriginal people in adult correctional services over time and across jurisdictions. It then provides analysis of factors that could be contributing to the over-representation of Aboriginal adults in custody.

Highlights:

• in 2007/2008, Aboriginal adults accounted for 22% of admissions to sentenced custody, while representing 3% of the Canadian population
• data for Saskatchewan and Alberta showed that young adults without a high school diploma and without a job had the highest rates of incarceration
• for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people aged 20 to 34, incarceration rates declined as the education and employment situation improved. However, the decreases were greater for non-Aboriginal young adults
• the gap in the incarceration rates for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal adults narrowed when age was considered, but Aboriginal adults continued to have consistently higher rates across all age groupings
• analysis suggests that other factors, such as income, housing and rehabilitative needs, may explain much of the gap