Mass Incarceration

Mass incarceration in Canada

While mass incarceration is often discussed in the American context, Canada has its own issues with conditions in prisons, racism within the system, and mass incarceration more generally. While Canada does not have the startling incarceration rates of the U.S., Canada is still the 6th highest incarcerator in the Western world (Department of Public Safety, 2017). In 2017/2018, there were approximately 38,786 adults in provincial or federal custody on any given day, with an additional 103,947 adults under community supervision (parole, probation, conditional sentences etc.) (Statistics Canada, 2019). Despite a 4% decrease in national incarceration, spending on incarceration has increased by 7%, reaching a total of $5 billion in 2017/2018 (after adjusting for inflation) (Statistics Canada, 2019).

Federal vs Provincial

In Canada, prison administration is divided between federal and provincial/territorial governments. Correctional Service Canada (CSC) is responsible for the federal system (adults serving 2+ year sentences), and provincial correctional services are responsible for adults serving sentences of less than 2 years and those on remand. Male-identifying people make up 86% of custody admissions in provincial institutions, and 92% of those in custody and federal institutions (Chu, 2019).

Racism in the Criminal Justice System

The effects of mass incarceration also disproportionately fall on marginalized groups and is especially felt by Indigenous people. Despite accounting for only 4% of the population, Indigenous adults accounted for about 30% of admissions to provincial and federal custody in 2017/2018 (Statistics Canada, 2019). Similarly, the incarceration of Black adults increased 70% between 2005 and 2016, and Black people account for 9% of federal inmates, despite representing only about 3% of the population (Chan, Chuen, & McLeod, 2017). This is consistent with the over-policing of Indigenous and Black Canadians (Chuen et. al, 2017).

Mental Health Challenges Among the Incarcerated Population

Issues of mass incarceration are further exacerbated by high rates of mental illness among the incarcerated population. Over 70% of male offenders and 79% of female offenders in federal custody met the criteria for a current mental disorder (Beaudette, Power, & Stewart, 2015; Brown, Barker, McMillan, Norman, Derkzen, & Stewart, 2018). For Indigenous women in federal custody, the rate jumps to 95.6% (Brown et. al, 2018). For men, the most prevalent disorder was alcohol/substance use disorders, with 49.6% of male federal offenders meeting the criteria (Beaudette et. al, 2015).

Substance Use and Incarceration

Drug and alcohol use, disease transmission, and overdoses are major concerns in federal and provincial prisons When admitted to federal custody, almost 70% of adults are assessed as having an issue with substance use (Correctional Service Canada, 2015). Further, surveys show that 34% of adult offenders admitted to using injection drugs before they were incarcerated, and 11% stated that they had used injection drugs while in custody (Correctional Service Canada, 2015).

Matching community trends, overdoses have been steadily increasing in federal custody over the past decade (Correctional Service Canada, 2019). Further, the rates of offenders suffering from infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C has dramatically increased over the past decade (Correctional Service Canada, 2015).

In an attempt to address these issues, Correctional Service Canada (CSC) has announced that it will roll-out a Prison Needle Exchange Program (PNEP) in two federal prisons (Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, 2018). Another program rolled out recently is the first prison Overdose Prevention Site in Alberta’s Drumheller Institution (Browne, 2019). While these are welcome changes, many experts are still concerned about the lack of transparency regarding the implementation for these programs (Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, 2019). There has also been significant push back from correctional officers.

From Imprisonment to Prison Abolition

While it is important to create change with the current prison system, prison reform is not the answer to mass incarceration and intersecting issues of racism, colonialism, mental health, exploitation, and social inequality. Rather than relying on punishment, which causes more harm to individuals and communities, we need to re-think how we address social challenges and consider alternative forms of restorative justice.

References

Beaudette, J.N., et al. “National Prevalence of Mental Disorders among Incoming Federally-Sentenced Men.” Correctional Service Canada , 1 Feb. 2015, www.csc-scc.gc.ca/research/005008-0357-eng.shtml.

Brown , G, et al. “National Prevalence of Mental Disorders among Federally Sentenced Women Offenders: In Custody Sample.” Correctional Service of Canada, 22 June 2018, www.csc-scc.gc.ca/research/r-406-en.shtml.

Browne, Rachel. “A Prison Is Opening the First Overdose Prevention Site for Inmates in Canada.” Global News, 12 June 2019, www.globalnews.ca/news/5373931/overdose-prevention-site-prison/

“Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network.” Canadian HIVAIDS Legal Network, www.aidslaw.ca/site/?lang=en. 

Chu, S. (2019). Harm reduction as social justice: prisons. Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. [PowerPoint].

Chuen, Lorraine, et al. “Everything You Were Never Taught about Canada's Prison Systems.” Intersectional Analyst, Intersectional Analyst, 20 July 2017, www.intersectionalanalyst.com/intersectional-analyst/2017/7/20/everything-you-were-never-taught-about-canadas-prison-systems.

Correctional Service of Canada. “Forum on Corrections Research.” Correctional Service of Canada - FORUM on Corrections Research, 5 Mar. 2015, www.csc-scc.gc.ca/research/forum/e133/e133c-eng.shtml.

Correctional Service of Canada. “Overdose Incidents in Federal Custody, 2012/2013 - 2016/2017.” PrisonTalk.com, Correctional Service Canada , Jan. 2019, www.csc-scc.gc.ca/research/sr-18-02-en.shtml#n9.

Malakieh, Jamil. “Adult and Youth Correctional Statistics in Canada, 2017/2018.” Statistics Canada, Government of Canada, Statistics Canada, 9 May 2019, www.150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2019001/article/00010-eng.htm.

Public Safety Canada. “2017 Corrections and Conditional Release Statistical Overview.” Public Safety Canada, 7 Feb. 2019, www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/ccrso-2017/index-en.aspx.