Presentation to the First Nations Policing and Indigenous Justice National Symposium Indigenous Peoples in the Federal Correctional System November 5 th 2019 Dr Ivan Zinger Correctional Investigator of Canada ID: 776295
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Office of the Correctional InvestigatorPresentation to the First Nations Policing and Indigenous Justice National Symposium Indigenous Peoples in the Federal Correctional SystemNovember 5th, 2019Dr. Ivan ZingerCorrectional Investigator of Canada
Slide2Canadian Corrections in Context
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Federal offenders are those serving a sentence of two years or more. Individuals with sentences of two years or less fall under the jurisdiction of provincial correctional systems.
Federal sentences are administered by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC). CSC operates 43 federal correctional institutions across Canada, and employs ~19,000 full-time employees.
2017/18 Costs$120,571 (Federal custody)$84,915 (Provincial custody)
2018/19 Avg. Daily CountsProvincial Custody = 9,543Remand Custody = 14,812Federal Custody = 14,129
Rate of Incarceration
: 131 per 100,000 adult population
Slide3Incarceration Rate by Province 2017/18
2017/18 rate
per 100,000 adult population: 131**Numbers include federal, provincial and territorial incarceration rate(Source: Statistics Canada)
66
111
207
231
65
71
191
527
621
78
72
66
62
76
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Office of the Correctional InvestigatorRole and Mandate
Ombudsman for federally sentenced offenders
I
ndependent oversight of federal corrections
Conducts investigations into the problems of offenders related to “decisions, recommendations, acts or omissions” of the Correctional Service of Canada
F
ocus is on compliance, fairness and legality
Slide5Mission Statement
“As the ombudsman for federally sentenced offenders, the Office of the Correctional Investigator serves Canadians and contributes to safe, lawful and humane corrections through independent oversight of the Correctional Service of Canada by providing accessible, impartial and timely investigation of individual and systemic concerns.”
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Slide6Annual Statistics (2018-19)
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$5.4M budget
40 FTEs
476 days spent in penitentiaries
5,251 offender complaints
1,345 interviews with offenders
1,616 use of force reviews
116 deaths in custody and serious bodily injury reviews
Slide7Systemic Investigations
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“The degree of civilization in
a society can be judged by entering its prisons.”
Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1862)
Slide9Profile of the Inmate Population
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Slide10Changing Inmate Profile
Access to Community Health Care 73% of federally sentenced men and 80% of women meet criteria for any current mental disorder. 29% identified by CSC as requiring follow-up mental health services at admission.Psychotropic drugs are prescribed to federal inmates at a rate of almost 4x the Canadian Average (30.4% versus 8.0%). 33% of women meet the diagnosis for PTSD.Incidents of self-injury doubled in last decade (now 975 by 301 prisoners).Attempted suicides quadrupled in last decade (now 126 attempts).Support for Cognitive Deficit25% of incoming male admissions had some level of “cognitive deficit” (2014).Twice as many female offenders are within “intellectually impaired” (IQ) range compared to the general Canadian population.Individuals with learning disabilities and acquired brain injuries are vastly over-represented.10% to 23% of federally incarcerated individuals meet the criteria for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD).Aboriginal Self-Governance – 29.7% of prisoners are of Aboriginal ancestry, but comprise about 5% of the Canadian adult population. 41.4% federally sentenced women are Indigenous.Diversity in Canadian Society – Black Canadians represent less than 3% of the Canadian general population, but make up to 8% of the federal inmate population. The proportion of Caucasian inmates declined by about 10% in the last decade.National Drug Strategy – 75% of prisoners have a history of substance abuse/addiction at admission. Substance abuse was directly linked with index offences in over 60% of cases.
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Slide11Changing Inmate Profile (continued)
Education – 75% of federal offenders reported no high school diploma (or equivalent) at admission. 65% enter the system with lower than Grade 8.Employment – 62% of federally sentenced men were unemployed at the time of arrest. Harm Reduction – In 2017, the prevalence of HIV in federal institutions was 1.2%, and 9% of federally sentenced men reported being Hepatitis C positive.Women in Canadian Society – The number of women prisoners has increased 30% in the last 10 years (compared to -1.5% for males). The Aboriginal women offender population increased by 43%. 68% of women offenders reported sexual abuse and 86% physical abuse.Aging in Canadian Society – Over 25% of federally incarcerated offenders is aged 50 or over. This segment of the offender population increased by 50% over the past decade. 15% of federally sentenced women are over the age of 50.Life Expectancy – The average age of death in custody is 60 years of age (natural, suicide, overdose, homicide) .
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Slide12Indigenous Corrections
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Slide13Identified Needs
Social HistoryOther family members likely to have spent time in prison.Over half attended or had a family member attend a residential school.Significant involvement with child welfare system and youth criminal justice systemMental Health83% meet criteria for any current mental disorder. Substance Use/ Addictions 84% were identified as having high or moderate substance abuse needs. For 84%, alcohol and/or drug use was part of the offence cycle.Infectious DiseasesData from between 2005 and 2012 found HCV and HIV prevalence higher among Indigenous inmates (32% and 2.62%) compared to non-Indigenous (24% and 1.51%).Education & EmploymentUpon admission, 61% have lower than Grade 10 (or equivalent), and 81% reported no high school.72% were unemployed at the time of arrest.
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Slide14Poor Correctional Outcomes
Compared to non-Indigenous Offenders Segregation On April 7, 2019, 43% of the segregation population was Indigenous.Use of Force IncidentsIn 2018/19, 45% of incidents reviewed by the Office involved at least one Indigenous inmate.Self-Injurious IncidentsIndigenous persons were involved in more than half of all incidents of prison self-injury in 2018/19. Maximum SecurityA higher proportion (18% vs. 14%) are classified as maximum security.Conditional Release and Community SupervisionMost (70%) Indigenous offenders are released at their Statutory Release date.Day parole rates remain far below those for the overall population (18% vs. 35%)More often returned to custody on a revocation (39% vs. 31%)RecidivismIndigenous men have the highest rates of recidivism (65%), followed by Indigenous women (47%), non-Indigenous men (39%), and non-Indigenous women (21%).
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Slide15Profile of Federally Sentenced Women
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Compared to men, incarcerated women are:
Twice as likely to have a serious mental health diagnosis.
Twice as likely to be serving a sentence for drug-related offences.
More likely to be serving a shorter sentence (2 to 4 years).
More likely to be supporting dependents on the outside
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¾ of incarcerated women are mothers
Higher motivation for correctional intervention and higher potential for reintegration.
Slide16Indigenous Corrections
OCI RecommendationsAppoint a Deputy Commissioner for Indigenous AffairsReallocation of significant CSC budget to Indigenous communities to fund Section 81 and 84 agreementsImplement a national gang and disaffiliation strategyCreate risk assessment and classification tools responsive to the reality of Indigenous people Enhance the role of EldersAdminister the sentence of an Indigenous person informed by Gladue principles
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Slide17Recent Reports
Other Similar RecommendationsTruth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) December 2015 – Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future (17 relevant Calls to Action)Auditor General of Canada (OAG) Preparing Indigenous Offenders for Release November 2016 (8 recommendations)Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security (SECU) June 2018 – Indigenous People in the Federal Correctional System (19 recommendations)Standing Committee on the Status of Women (FEWO) June 2018 – A Call to Action: Reconciliation with Indigenous Women in the Federal Justice and Correctional Systems (96 recommendations)National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) June 2019 (14 relevant calls to Justice to CSC)
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“It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.”
- Nelson Mandela
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