Justice
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Aboriginal adult admissions to custody
Aboriginal adults are overrepresented in admissions to correctional services
Although the proportion of Aboriginal people within the Canadian adult population was just under 4%, Aboriginal people accounted for over one-quarter (28%) of admissions to sentenced custody in 2011/2012. For most other types of supervision, the proportion of Aboriginal adults among admissions was somewhat lower but nevertheless higher than their proportion within the population. For example, Aboriginal adults accounted for 25% of admissions to remand and 21% of admissions to probation and conditional sentences.
In general, the overrepresentation of Aboriginal adults was greater among females than males. For example, Aboriginal people accounted for 43% of female admissions to provincial/territorial sentenced custody and 37% of women admitted to remand, compared with 27% and 23% for male admissions respectively.
The overrepresentation of Aboriginal adults in admissions to provincial/territorial sentenced custody was less pronounced in the Atlantic provinces and Quebec, where the proportion of Aboriginal adults in sentenced custody admissions was one to three times higher than their proportion within the population. In contrast, in Ontario and the Western provinces, the proportion of Aboriginal adults admitted to sentenced custody was six to nine times higher than their proportion within the general population.
For additional information, see Admissions to adult correctional services in Canada, 2011/2012.
Aboriginal youth admissions to correctional services
Aboriginal youth are over-represented in the correctional system
Aboriginal youth aged 12 to 17 years accounted for 7% of all youth in the provinces and territories providing data on youth admissions to the corrections system. However, they accounted for a much higher proportion (39%) of the young people admitted to the corrections system in 2011/2012. The over-representation of Aboriginal girls was especially high: Aboriginal girls accounted for 49% of female youth admitted to the corrections system. For males, the corresponding figure was 36%.
For additional information, see Admissions to youth correctional services in Canada, 2011/2012.
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