Incarceration Rates Disparity in Provincial and Federal Prisons - Essay Example

Incarceration Rates Disparity in Provincial and Federal Prisons Introduction Disparity in incarceration rates have been witnessed in both provincial and federal prisons based on racial lines. This has been termed as unequal justice within the judicial process in the country. Prisons in Ontario have registered overrepresentation of prisoners from Black and Aboriginal people in comparison to other races within Canada. Actual statistics have indicated that aboriginal boys aged between 12 and 17 years form 2.9 percent of all the young male population under incarceration. The case is much higher among black boys undergoing jail admissions. Less representation is registered among the white boys and other ethnic groups. Among girls, only the aboriginal communities have registered increased misrepresentation in the jails which is rated at 10 percent higher than other ethnic groups in the Ontario prisons. Statistics have indicated that indicated that over-representation of the Aboriginal people in the prisons has been on the increasing trend over the past 30 years. The statistics escalated after the Second World War and the trend has accelerated over the years. If the current trend is to continue, then the number of Aboriginal people under incarceration is likely to be higher than those out of prisons which are in deed a worrying trend. Causes of overrepresentation in incarceration within the prisons Despite the introduction of the Youth Criminal Justice Act of 2003 that has seen a steady decrease in the number of incarcerations among the youths; the trend has not been witnessed among the aboriginal boys and girls. The provincial jails must rise and act on the increased number of deaths of black youths that has been witnessed lately through gun shots by police and other security agencies. This calls for a a change of tactics on how security issues are to be handled in the country and that massive incarcerations is not the solution. International bodies such as the United Nations have expressed their concern on the need to reduce the increased overrepresentation of aboriginal and black races in the federal and provincial prisons. In Manitoba, similar situations seem to exist based on how the Aboriginal people are treated in relation to incarcerations. Despite the fact that they only form 12% of the entire province population, they dominate the jails and account for more that 0ne-half of the people who are incarcerated in the correctional centers at any given time. It is indeed very shocking that in nation where justice is expected to be blind to racial differences only one ethnic group seem to dominate the prisons. It has been established that this situation can only be linked to one of the two factors which include the belief that the aboriginal people may be committing more crimes in comparison to other ethnic groups or they may just be innocent victims of a discriminatory judicial process. The two reasons are believed to be correct but need to be carefully analyzed. The aboriginal people may be linked to increasing cases of crime and that can be explained by the fact that there has been a long history of discrimination and inequality in terms of distribution of resources within the country that seem not to be in favor of the group. There are many credible evidences that can be used to prove that the aboriginal people have been marginalized. These cases prove that there is racism in the administration of justice within the entire nation of Canada. Radical steps need to be undertaken so as t ensure that cases of racism are confronted and condemned with utmost firmness. The aboriginal people have witnessed a long history of cultural oppression and social inequality that have led to poor treatment of the people by the federal government of Canada. These evidences make it clear that these factors are crucial in explaining the reasons why Aboriginal people are over-represented in Manitoba’s jails. It has been established that crime rates are indeed higher in Aboriginal communities which has been magnified by the difficulties that exist in defining the term crime and because different societies have different concepts of crime. For example, many Aboriginal peoples continue to exercise their rights to hunt and fish, although they risk prosecution under provincial and federal laws for doing so. In addition, society’s criminals are part of a larger group, some of which escape detection or conviction. It has been established beyond any reasonable doubt that being held before trial leads to more guilty pleas that may set people immediately free but count heavily against them with each subsequent encounter with the law. This has been the case especially when dealing with offenders of Black and Aboriginal origin. More conditions at release time mean more of a chance of breaching them, which brings one back to jail leading to over representation. Black people in Canada face almost similar challenges as those being faced by the Aboriginal people such as poverty, lack of basic amenities, unemployment and family struggles. These factors contribute to increase in criminal activities among them leading to incarceration. Conclusion The root causes of over-representation in the prisons is racism and discrimination that has existed since the beginning of human history. They are particularly likely to develop when there is close association of separate groups of people, especially if they have different cultures, religions or skin colors. Canada has a long and tragic history of discrimination and racism. It has been established that racism in Canada cannot be confined to one cultural group only as each of the local communities in Canada have witnessed discrimination in different measures. For true equality to be realized, the country need to consider the use of less incarceration, greater dignity in the treatment of the people, the elimination of mandatory penalties and measures aimed at decriminalizing some of the drugs in the country such as marijuana. These factors will further allow the diversion of spending on correctional activities and channeling them to investments in matters that will improve the living standards of the people (Roberts, 12-36). Work Cited Roberts, Julian V, and David P. Cole. Making Sense of Sentencing. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998. Print. Read More