A Sociological Analysis: Indigenous People and Criminal Justice System

This essay explores the overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples within the Canadian criminal justice system, framed by a criminological and sociological lens. The paper highlights the historical, social, and economic conditions that contribute to the disproportionate involvement of Indigenous peoples as both offenders and victims. It examines various social factors, including lower education levels, higher unemployment rates, and the impact of colonialism, which create vulnerabilities within Indigenous communities. The essay discusses challenges within the criminal justice system, such as the focus on punishment over rehabilitation, lack of culturally appropriate services, and systemic biases. It emphasizes the need for reform to address the root causes of crime and improve outcomes for Indigenous peoples, advocating for community-based sentencing, restorative justice practices, and policies that acknowledge and address the unique circumstances faced by these communities.

Running head: THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN
CANADA
THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN CANADA
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THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN CANADA
The indigenous people or the aboriginal people are the inhabitants of Canada since time
immemorial. According to the census, report (Statistics of Canada) of 2016 indigenous people
consists of over 1.6 million, which was 4.9 percent of the total population in Canada. The
indigenous people were responsible to create complex economic, social, cultural and political
systems before the arrival of Europeans to North America. The Aboriginal population mainly
consists of a group that can be Inuit or Metis, North American Indian. The people who were
identified under the Treaty Indians or people from an Indian community are also coming under
this section. The northern regions of Canada were primarily inhabited by the Inuit. Praire
provinces and Ontario are residences of the Metis. It has been seen that research over the years
has more directed towards the indigenous people as the indigenous people have gone through
different social, historic and economic conditions. The uniqueness of the indigenous people to be
a part of the society are likely to come under the criminal justice system and the legislators need
to consider these people separately to follow the law. Different policies have been introduced
under criminal justice and implemented also. These policies are fulfilling the needs of the people
or not is very difficult to assess because different reports and surveys are lacking in the evidence
to show the indigenous victimization and affronting. The criminal justice system through
corrections surveys, police reports and data observed the involvement of aboriginal people. The
reports have shown that the indigenous people are playing as a victim for heinous crimes more
than the non-aboriginal people (Boyce, 2016). The aboriginal people are also considered more
for playing the role of an offender especially in the police-reported cases. The cases include
people in the correctional system and murder cases. Canada has seen that the area surrounded by
the indigenous people are with high rates of crimes as compared to the other parts of Canada.

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THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN CANADA
This paper will focus on the victims of aboriginal groups in the society and social aspects
behind these groups and the challenges in the criminal justice system in Canada.
There are different social factors when it comes to the existence of these people.
Aboriginal people are having low education as compared to the non-aboriginal people as per a
report in 2001 the aboriginal people aged 15 years or older failed to complete the high school
and the percentage is higher than the non-aboriginal people. The level of percentage is much
lower for the university study for these groups. The low education standards also made the
indigenous people grow as a low-income group and the employment rate is also high among
these groups. One person from every five people belongs to this group is considered to
unemployed and the percentage is high from the non-aboriginal group. The aboriginal group
consists of younger people than non-aboriginal people which considers as one of the vital threats
for victimization and offending (Friend, 2016).
It has been seen that the average young from the aboriginal group aged about 24 years
whereas the non-aboriginal the average young age is 37. Uniform Crime Reporting Survey in the
year 2004 showed that the age group between 15 to 24 years is responsible for property crimes
and it was 43% and for brutal crimes, it was 32%. The children from the aboriginal group are
mostly the members of a single parent which is another drawback for the upbringing in the
society (Hargreaves, 2017). The people from this group who are the resident of off reserves in
Canada are living in crowded conditions and these social factors make these people as the
vulnerable group in the society which can be easily exploited by the system.
The criminal justice system of Canada made a large group of people from the aboriginal
group as the victim of crime. The General Social Survey of 2004 has shown that aboriginal
people faced the crime more than the other people in Canada and the crime rate against these

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THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN CANADA
people has remained unchanged from 1999 survey (Simpson, 2018). Crimes related to physical
assault, violence on a young female from this group are significant ones (Rudin, 2016). The
young people aged from 15 to 35 years are coming under the violence of crime.
The Criminal Justice System in Canada is facing various issues that are known to be the
challenges in the judicial system (Wright, 2016). The judicial system is more focused on offenses
that are related to minor administration and these offenses have flourished from the past which
results in unnecessary delay for judgement. The system is more focused on punishment rather
than on community-based sentencing and rehabilitation which makes the system outdated and
unable to connect to the needs of the society. Lack of curative justice and other alternatives in the
system (Furniss, 2017).
Problems and issues related to fundamental rights for example homelessness and poverty
in the people are not addressed by the system and the aboriginal group forced to live in the
crowded area because of no alternatives (Hewitt, 2016). The criminal justice system intentionally
targets the aboriginal people and most of the time these vulnerable groups are ill-treated by the
Police and authorities. Information related to the criminal justice system is not communicated to
the society to get the idea about the present scenario and approaches towards crime.
The judicial system takes a long time for a case to go for trial and it hampers the rights of
victims. Victims of a crime are not able to get affordable supports during the process and after
the ending of a case. The aboriginal people especially the young females as a victim of sexual
assault mostly fear to report the crime to Police because of ill-treatment by the officer or lack of
faith in the present justice system. The victims under the criminal justice system are not always
treated with respect and sometimes it gives a shock to the mind.

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THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN CANADA
Therefore from the above discussion it can be concluded that criminal justice in Canada
needs to be changed to protect the aboriginal group of the society. It needs to be more focused on
relief towards the victim of the society instead of targeting the aboriginal people of Canada. The
system needs to be more flexible towards the social aspect and a comprehensive ameliorate. The
crimes on the aboriginal group must be taken into consideration by the legislation of the country.
Sexual assault, murder, substance abuse are crimes that need to be finished by proper law and
judicial system.

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THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN CANADA
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