Justice for all? Stats show aboriginals hugely over-represented in prisons

Caught in a vicious cycle of victimization

By JILLIAN AUSTIN, Winnipeg Sun

Aboriginal people are three times more likely than non-aboriginals to be victims of violent crimes, according to data from the 2004 General Social Survey.

A violent robbery, physical assault or sexual assault is often (56% of the time) committed by someone who was known to the victim, such as a relative, friend or neighbour.

“Those kind of statistics are very troubling,” said Grand Chief Ron Evans of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.

Evans said this is an issue that plagues the provincial reserves.

“Because of the conditions that we find ourselves in, it’s very difficult for one to improve themselves,” Evans said. “Growing up, they don’t have access to get involved in many ... of the activities that young people should be in ... so they can learn about responsibility and learn about how to get along with others in a way that will benefit them for life ...

“As long as we don’t provide those, what’s going to run rampant is the illegal activities.”

In total 21% of aboriginal people also reported having experienced some form of physical or sexual violence by a spouse in the five years preceding the 2004 survey. This compares to 6% for non-aboriginal people.

The GSS revealed that aboriginal people are much more likely to be victims of homicide than non-aboriginal people. Between 1997 and 2000, the average homicide rate was 8.8 per 100,000 population, almost seven times higher than among non-aboriginal people (1.3 per 100,000 population).

On-reserve crime rates in 2004 were about three times higher than rates in the rest of Canada. The difference was even greater for violent crime, with an on-reserve rate that was eight times the rate of the rest of the country.

Evans said leaders in the community continue to work toward solutions.

“We’re trying hard to make sure that we’re dealing with those issues ... and meeting the needs of our people,” he said.

By Winnipeg Sun

It’s a sad fact that despite being a relatively small minority in this province, aboriginal people are the majority when it comes to run-ins with the criminal justice system. In a special series, the Winnipeg Sun’s Jillian Austin examines some of the reasons and joins in the search for solutions to this ever-growing problem.

Whenever a cell door clanks shut in Manitoba, the person inside is usually an aboriginal.

In the 2008-09 fiscal year, aboriginal convicts made up a whopping 71% of all admissions to provincial institutions. And while the statistics are particularly grim in Manitoba, they point to a larger national trend.

From 1998 to 2008, the aboriginal population in federal prisons increased by nearly 20%, according to a Public Safety Canada report.

Eric Robinson, Manitoba’s minister of Aboriginal and Northern Affairs, says the numbers are troubling.

“I’d like to say that some improvements have been made with respect to the number of aboriginal people doing time, but that’s not the case obviously,” he said.

In the entire province, aboriginal people make up just 12% of the adult population. So why is there such an overrepresentation in the jails?

Robinson said the root cause goes back generations.

“It’s hard to overcome generations of oppression towards aboriginal people,” he said. “As a result, many aboriginal people fall between the cracks and then wind up doing time.”

The residential school era took away the students’ cultural identity, which has been passed on through generations, he said.

“We have not been able as aboriginal people to generate enough to end that cycle that appears to be there,” he said. “What has happened has been ... this loss of identity of aboriginal people and that’s what has contributed to the social discourse of aboriginal people for the most part in the province of Manitoba.”

Jennifer Wood, residential school compensation co-ordinator with the Association of Manitoba Chiefs, says Canada’s history with aboriginal people continues to affect the population.

“I’ve always believed that the direct link to many of our problems is ... these are children of residential school survivors,” she said. “When you come out, you don’t have the parenting skills, you don’t have the emotional comfort that a child should have, you don’t have the ability to teach them certain things.”

Many families live in poverty on reserves, and when people make the move to the city, that poverty continues, she said.

“Once you come in to the city, you are a target because you are a vulnerable person,” she said. “You don’t have the street smarts. Vulnerability is a breeding ground for people wanting to recruit young people into the drug scene.”

Poverty is often linked to criminal activity, and Wayne Helgason, executive director of the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg says it is the “single most determining factor” for whether or not one chooses a life of crime.

“Our last report card clearly showed that 68% of children under the age of six who are aboriginal live in poverty,” he said.

When educational and other opportunities are missed, there is a general disassociation with society and its norms and values, he said.

“It gives you permission in your own way, to take what you can, while you can for immediate basic needs,” he said. “So it’s a predictable situation. If we have poverty and exclusion, we will have increasing rates of crime.”

When educational and other opportunities are missed, there is a general disassociation with society and its norms and values.

“It gives you permission in your own way, to take what you can, while you can for immediate basic needs,” he said. “So it’s a predictable situation. If we have poverty and exclusion, we will have increasing rates of crime.”

Evans said leaders in the community continue to work toward solutions.

“We’re trying hard to make sure that we’re dealing with those issues ... and meeting the needs of our people,” he said.

grumpy old man wrote:Perhaps this is most telling:

Evans said leaders in the community continue to work toward solutions.

“We’re trying hard to make sure that we’re dealing with those issues ... and meeting the needs of our people,” he said.

I'd go out on a limb and say the community leaders are doing a horrid job with solutions. They show leadership by taking outrageous salaries? By not paying bills? By ignoring zoning bylaws?

Sorry Mr. evans, but you are not "meeting the needs of (your) people". Quite the opposite in fact.

That said, where do we/they begin?

SuperNaut wrote:Some leaders and their bands are doing well.

holly golightly wrote:It is the commitment of the people to which change will be made and it is the people who are driving that change, not the government.

Cards stacked against aboriginal ex-convicts

By JILLIAN AUSTIN, Winnipeg Sun

Once their time is served in jail, many aboriginal ex-cons hope to start a new life.

In Winnipeg the first stop is often one of the employment agencies. But with a criminal record, no driver’s licence and no place to call home, the barriers are overwhelming, says Janet Easter, employment counsellor at the Centre for Aboriginal Human Resource Development.

“First of all, I guess you can basically say they’re homeless, because ... when they do get out of the halfway house, where do they go? To the street right away if you don’t have any family,” Easter said.

People from northern reserves are often not able to go back home, she said, due to their conditions or other circumstances.

“Sometimes there’s no home for you,” she said.

The job search is often a futile effort.

“It’s very hard to do with limited education, limited work experience and no driver’s license,” Easter said. “And the criminal record is a big one.”

It’s hard for the counsellors who see these problems on a regular basis, she said.

“They have so much in front of them that they have to overcome. They just keep going but not really going anywhere,” she said. “I feel sorry. I just empathize with them.”

Often the only option is to turn back to a criminal lifestyle.

“How are you going to find a job when you have no bus fare? How are you going to find a job when you have nothing to eat?” Easter said.

A change needs to happen in the social assistance policies, Easter says.

“I’ve heard lots of stories where people have gone to assistance, and they say, “No, sorry,’” Easter said.

“We need to see a change in the social assistance, and how they assist people ... who are right at the bottom. They need that extra help.”