NCJ Number
183087
Journal
Forum on Corrections Research Volume: 12 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2000 Pages: 7-9
Editor(s)
Larry Motiuk Ph.D.
Date Published
2000
Length
3 pages
Annotation
As of 1996, Aboriginal people represented fewer than 3 percent of the general population in Canada, yet they were about 5 to 6 times more likely to be incarcerated than their distribution in the population would predict.
Abstract
The average age of the Aboriginal population in 1996 was 25.5 years, 10 years younger than the average age in the general population. Children under 15 years of age accounted for 35 percent of all Aboriginal people, compared to only 20 percent in the total population. Given the number of young children and the much higher birth rate among Aborigines, large increases are predicted over the next decade in the Aboriginal population between 15 and 24 years of age. Not only is the Aboriginal population younger and growing faster, but there appears to be a growing concentration of this population in large cities. The overrepresentation of Aborigines in Canada's adult prisons and penitentiary system is pervasive. Aboriginal inmate representation ranges from about 4 percent in Quebec to just over 44 percent in the Prairies Region. Aborigines are overrepresented in every Federal region. Based on past trends, the problem of Aboriginal overrepresentation in correctional institutions and the criminal justice system will continue unless there are major changes in the way Aboriginal people interact with the criminal justice system. 7 footnotes and 3 tables