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CSC’s Aboriginal Initiatives

Enhanced capacities to provide effective interventions for First Nations, Métis and Inuit Offenders

Photo: Bill Rankin

Over the past five years, CSC has developed and implemented new approaches to Aboriginal corrections and made progress; however, it takes time and we have more to do. For that reason, one of CSC’s five key priorities for 2006–07 is to provide enhanced capacities to provide effective interventions for First Nations, Métis and Inuit offenders. We are in the process of implementing specific, targeted plans to meet this goal, in line with our longer term strategic vision for a federal correctional system that is responsive to the needs of Aboriginal offenders and that contributes to safe and healthy communities.

To give you some context, offenders with First Nations, Métis and Inuit ancestry are overrepresented in the criminal justice system and in correctional systems across the country. While Aboriginal peoples comprise 2.7 percent of the adult Canadian population, approximately 16.7 percent of offenders serving federal sentences (in institutions and communities) are of Aboriginal ancestry. The proportion is even higher for the overall women offender population.

To understand the challenge that this presents for CSC, we must acknowledge the differences between the Aboriginal offenders and non-Aboriginal offenders in our custody. Research shows that Aboriginal people admitted to federal custody are increasingly younger and are more likely to be incarcerated for a violent offence, often have affiliations with gangs and have much higher needs (including needs related to substance abuse, health, employment and education). While non-Aboriginal offenders may also face many of these issues, there are unique aspects to consider for Aboriginal offenders and different types of interventions may be required to effectively address their needs.

To meet these needs, CSC adopted an Aboriginal corrections continuum of care in 2003. It is consistent with the four key components of CSC’s overall correctional strategy: baseline risk and needs assessment at intake, research-based interventions that respond to those risks and needs, reassessment for decision-making, and community reintegration.

We are now poised to take the next step. This fall, we will launch our five-year plan which articulates a vision for Aboriginal corrections that will take us beyond development and implementation of correctional interventions to enhancing capacities to provide interventions for Aboriginal offenders within a continuum of care model that respects the diversity of First Nations, Métis and Inuit offenders and their communities. This new approach calls for greater integration of Aboriginal initiatives and considerations throughout our organization, with other levels of government and with Aboriginal peoples.

We will succeed with these plans only with the ongoing support and commitment of Elders, Aboriginal liaison officers, community representatives and Aboriginal organizations, and we look forward to continuing our work with these significant partners.

Ultimately, our results will be measured in terms of public safety, the contribution that Aboriginal-specific interventions make to reducing the rate of violent re-offending while individuals are under CSC jurisdiction and the contribution that those interventions make to helping offenders sustain progress beyond the end of their sentence.

I look forward to sharing with you our achievements and successes, as we work with dedicated partners and staff to provide enhanced capacities to provide effective interventions for First Nations, Métis and Inuit offenders. ♦

Don Head
Senior Deputy Commissioner
Correctional Service of Canada