3.20Figure 3.3 below shows that the imprisonment rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has increased 41% over 10 years, from 1,438 per 100,000 in 2006 to 2,039 per 100,000 persons in 2016. This view was also held by the Supreme Court in R. v. Gladue.Footnote 25 However, to the extent that unequal denial of bail and pre-trial detention are realities, at least in some jurisdictions, the causes of the problems lie in underlying practices. For example, consider the importance of culture and culture clash in the development of new approaches to Indigenous justice. The underlying social issues that result in the over-representation of Indigenous and Black children in care are multi-faceted and need a multi-pronged approach. Similarly, the Supreme Court of Canada recognized the extent of the problem in Gladue: Like the decision to sustain the Aboriginal Justice Strategy and now the Indigenous Justice Program, policy decisions required to address issues of marginalization are largely the responsibility of the Government of Canada and, to a lesser extent, provincial and territorial governments. Until Indigenous communities achieve greater responsibility in managing their own justice matters, alternative approaches will work only if the mainstream system allows them to proceed and works closely and cooperatively with communities. Again, in the words of RCAP, “[t]here is no doubt in our minds that economic and social deprivation is a major underlying cause of disproportionately high rates of criminality among Aboriginal people” (1996:42). (This point was made consistently over the years by the Office of the Correctional Investigator.). The alternative is a “bottom-up” definition “which recognizes that communities are self-defined by people as a reflection of their local interactions and participation” (B.C. Bail is not guaranteed, but it is a real possibility for those who qualify by the standards set by the court. The new law came into force in 1996 and contained Criminal Code Section 718.2(e), which was intended to ameliorate the high rates of incarceration of Indigenous people. The importance of ensuring the relevance of programs to individual communities is discussed further below. Judges often have little recourse to sentencing alternatives at the community level, although the Indigenous Justice Program in the Department of Justice is making headway on this problem. For example, Domestic Violence Treatment Option Courts in Yukon and the Northwest Territories process mainly Indigenous offenders in a manner consistent with Gladue principles. Admission rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have increased from 13 to 15 per 1,000 children between 2011–12 and 2015–16. Those who favour granting bail, if reasonable, tend to agree that Gladue should apply to all Indigenous offenders because incarceration, whether as part of a sentence or pre-trial, is still incarceration and contradicts Gladue. Admissions are counted each time a person begins any period of supervision in a correctional institution or in the community. is increasing, according to the latest Statistics Canada report on adult and youth corrections. Similarly, and more regularly, other courts are using the circle model. While the Supreme Court in Gladue was progressive in some respects, it was less helpful in others (Roach, 2009). For non-Indigenous people, the imprisonment rate has increased by 24%, from 131 to 163 per 100,000 over the same period. In the Indigenous context, alternatives are often categorized under the umbrella “restorative justice.” The Court referred to “restoring a sense of balance to the offender, victim, and community, and in preventing future crime.” This is very much a restorative approach to dealing with crime. Most recently, it was renewed in the 2017 federal budget and was re-named the Indigenous Justice Program (IJP) with a permanent mandate. Since the AJI began in 1991, the federal government has developed a strong capability to enter into effective dialogue with provincial and territorial governments and with the Indigenous communities and community groups proposing community-based justice programs. Visible minorities as a whole do not appear to be over-represented among incarcerated offenders, since they account for 13% of the population in Canada (Statistics Canada, 2001). Statistics is a type of mathematical analysis representing quantifiable models and summaries for a given set of empirical data or real-world observations. The Toronto Aboriginal Youth Court is a model worthy of consideration in other jurisdictions. A comprehensive strategy is required to address continuing problems of colonialism, social and economic marginalization, and systemic discrimination. As Rudin points out, before the amendments came into force “sentencing was the exclusive purview of judges who balanced the principles of deterrence, denunciation, incapacitation, and rehabilitation in their own personal fashion, subject only to appellate review” (2007: 40-41). As Maurutto and Hannah-Moffat state, Incarceration statistics and relevant case law appear to confirm the statements made by Maurutto and Hannah-Moffat. The Toronto Bail Program agreed to adapt its guidelines so that Indigenous persons without a surety, including those with histories of failing to appear in court, can be considered for supervision. Indigenous people are less likely to be employed or to have an income and are often alienated from family and community, making bail is a real problem. It therefore becomes important for local Indigenous communities to be supported in their efforts to provide restorative programming of their own design and management so that courts have appropriate alternatives to which offenders can be diverted. Yet, Aboriginal people account for over one-half of the 1,600 people incarcerated on any given day of the year in Manitoba’s correctional institutions. Higher rates of pre-trial detention for Indigenous accused, particularly in view of a lack of appropriate community-based pre-trial alternatives, may then translate into an increased likelihood of custodial sentences. The Gladue appeal arose from a sentencing decision handed down by a trial court judge in British Columbia in the case of Jamie Gladue, an Indigenous woman convicted of murder. The overrepresentation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system has received attention from high levels. The Tsuu T’ina First Nation Court in Alberta is a good example. What is the difference between "statistical overrepresentation test" and "statistical enrichment test" in PANTHER GO enrichment analysis tools? The Indigenous Liaison Program serves as a bridge between Statistics Canada and First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities and Indigenous organizations. It has taken hold in many venues involving Indigenous offenders and victims, including at the Toronto Old City Hall Gladue Court where sentencing circles are increasingly being held in a room other than a regular courtroom and take on a more informal character. Conditional sentences are sentences of imprisonment (jail) that are served in the community and strictly monitored. An evaluation of the Aboriginal Youth Court concluded the court was achieving positive results with respect to several measures, including re-offending (Clark, 2016a). According to Roach and Rudin. The report will now turn to some of the policies and initiatives designed and implemented with a view to addressing problems arising from systemic discrimination, colonialism, socio-economic marginalization, and culture clash. The over-representation of African Americans in crime statistics and in the justice system. Walker ... Offenders, Statistics, Courts, Corrections, Trends, Criminal justice system, Comparisons, Victims. However, they discuss the emergence of a growing “Aboriginal underclass”, comprising mainly First Nation individuals living in reserve communities (2005: 35-36). Again, such problems can be explained by systemic discrimination in the criminal justice system. This under-representation has reversed, however, according to a 2018 report from the Department of Social Sciences at UCLA, which states that, despite making up less than 13% of the US population, "Blacks were overrepresented among actors in broadcast scripted … In 1996 the government renewed and expanded the initiative and changed its name to the Aboriginal Justice Strategy (AJS). Similarly, I have witnessed a judge referring a man convicted of spousal assault to a Community Justice Committee for “traditional counselling” as part of his probation order when, in fact, the Committee was not at all prepared to deal with such offenders. Over-representation in offender statistics is mirrored also by over-representation of Māori as victims of crime, a result of the fact that much crime occurs within families, social networks or immediate neighbourhoods. Breaching one or more conditions would normally require the offender to return to court and would often result in the offender serving the remainder of the sentence in jail. With over 28,000 conditional sentences being ordered in their first two years of existence, prison populations have not been reduced to nearly the same extent” (Roach and Rudin, 2000:369). Among other duties, the Courtworker explains the court process to the accused and determine if Gladue Court is appropriate, ensure the accused is connected with the court’s Duty Counsel (a legal aid lawyer who works at the courthouse and is often the first legal contact for accused individuals), work with the Crown prosecutor to identify the best diversion program for the individual, work with program providers to set up the diversion program, and advise the presiding judge as required. The following analysis considers the working relationship between Indigenous communities and governments and between Indigenous communities and the criminal justice system. It is not a probationary sentence, but a jail sentence of less than two years to be served in the community under certain conditions set by a judge. Regrettably, this has not always happened and, until recently, there were concerns expressed in the literature and by Indigenous communities and organizations that top-down approaches prevented the initiation of culturally relevant and effective community-based alternatives. In 2019, women hold 36 more positions across the IOC’s 26 commissions than they did in 2017, with female members present on each commission. Aboriginal Population Profile, 2016 Census. 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