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Successful Reintegration of Ethnocultural Offenders

Adapting and Reinforcing CSC’s Basic Programs

BY Djamila Amellal, Ph.D, Communications Officer, Communications and Citizen Engagement Sector

Photo: Bill Rankin

Thanks to its research-based correctional approach and programs, the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) enjoys an excellent reputation that extends beyond the nation’s borders to as far away as countries such as Kosovo and, more recently, Afghanistan. Whether in institutions or in the community, CSC administered programs target offenders’ criminogenic factors and prepare them for release on parole. However, do these same highly effective programs adequately meet the needs of ethnocultural offenders?

Professionals in the field of corrections speak of high-quality programs such as the Living Skills Program, the Substance Abuse Intervention Program, the Program for Sexual Offenders, the Violence Prevention Program, or the education and employment programs, to name just a few. However, in the case of ethno-cultural offenders, these programs can further be strengthened. According to Marcel Kabundi, National Manager, Ethnocultural Programs, NHQ, to ensure that programs recommended in the correctional plan of ethnocultural offenders have an effect, these programs must be individualized. 

Start at the Beginning

Marcel Kabundi, recipient of the Black History Month Steering Committee Professional Excellence Award was declared Person of the Week by Radio-Canada and LeDroit newspaper.

“When I arrived at the Leclerc Institution in the Quebec Region in 1987,” explains Marcel Kabundi, “I was surprised to find that a unit, commonly known as the ‘United Nations,’ covered all of the offenders belonging to ethnic minorities. I also noted that my colleagues experienced communication problems when faced with the varying cultures of the offenders. Moreover, the mediocre quality of language interpretation at some parole hearings could mislead the members of the National Parole Board (NPB), resulting in erroneous decisions in granting parole or maintaining in detention.”

As a result of these observations and consultations with NPB Headquarters in Ottawa, the ethnocultural diversity awareness course was developed and given to an initial group of CSC Quebec employees at the Laval Staff College by Kabundi. This first tool opens the door to many others, such as Commissioner’s Directive (CD) 767 Ethnocultural Offender Programs.

A Big Step Forward

“When I arrived in 1991 at National Headquarters,” Kabundi adds, “I found that it was necessary to start from scratch to bring about changes. We needed a policy that would take into account the specific needs of ethnocultural offenders, and whose ultimate objective was to adapt regular CSC programs to the situation of ethnocultural offenders. This would lead to better results.”

In 1994, the CSC Audit and Investigation Sector performed an internal audit to review the scope of the programs offered to Aboriginal and ethnocultural offenders. The audit Report recommends, in part, that NHQ should clarify which assessment strategies and psychological tests can be used for Native and ethnocultural offenders (Rec. 2), that appropriate cross-cultural awareness training be strongly encouraged for all staff, especially those who have direct regular contact with inmates (Rec. 4) and that regions and institutions review the role which Native and ethnocultural communities can play (Rec. 5).

As a result of this report, the CD Ethnocultural Offender Programs was created. It strengthens the basic programs by requiring that the diverse needs of ethnocultural offenders be taken into account in order to effectively help them correct the factors related to their criminal behaviour and reduce the risk of recidivism.

At the time, the hard work involved in crafting the CD Ethnocultural Offender Programs started in cooperation with Mario Dion, former Deputy Commissioner, Correctional Operations and Programs Sector and now Chairman of the National Parole Board. “CD 767 changed a lot of things from the outset,” Kabundi said. “This directive then became the in-house source document and resulted in a great deal of progress, such as the creation of regional ethnocultural advisory committees of professionals representative of Canada’s general and prison population, the Multi- culturalism Award, and the recruitment of ethnically diverse staff in order to have the internal cultural skills crucial to communication and intervention with ethnocultural minority offenders.”

Work Remaining

Professionals in the field consider that the objective should not be having specific programs for ethnocultural offenders, but rather adapting and enhancing the foundations of the CSC basic programs so as to customize intervention. This approach will guarantee the quality of these programs. 

The same professionals, including the CSC Chair of the National Advisory Ethnocultural Committee, Professor E. Douyon, following data collected throughout CSC regions, recommend, for example, that CSC take a further look at the criteria for validating cultural equivalencies for correctional programs, such as content equivalency, and the relevance of components for the culture at issue and for the offender being assessed. Do these components have the same meaning for all cultures? Is the evaluation method comparable between cultures? Is the interpretation of the components the same, given that each culture has its own norms?

“All these aspects and parameters must be included in order to adapt and customize CSC programs, based on the criminogenic and cultural needs of offenders belonging to ethnic minorities,” Kabundi explains. “It is essential that the assessment, analysis and interpretation tools be adapted to ethnocultural differences in order to make fair and informed decisions.”♦