New data shows province pacing country in prison rates

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This article was published 09/05/2019 (2507 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s criminal justice system is locking up youth and adults at rates that far outstrip other provinces, according to new data from Statistics Canada.

On top of that infamous distinction, Manitoba is also imprisoning Indigenous men and women in increasing numbers at the same time national incarceration rates are falling.

The data released Thursday is just the latest confirmation of the issues that have plagued Manitoba’s criminal justice system for decades, human rights lawyer Corey Shefman told the Free Press.

“The government has put its hands over its eyes and fingers over its ears, and is continuing to plow forward and ignoring the Indigenous lives that are being destroyed, ruined and, in some cases, lost because it’s not convenient for them to address these problems,” Shefman said.

“There’s nothing about Manitoba that makes it more likely to commit criminal offences. This isn’t a problem with the people of Manitoba. It’s not a problem with the Indigenous people of Manitoba. It’s a problem with the government of Manitoba.”

In 2017-18, Manitoba registered a youth incarceration rate of 19 per 10,000 children — higher than any other province or territory in the country. For comparison, eight of 10 provinces had youth incarceration rates of less than five per 10,000 children.

Among adults, the situation wasn’t much better, the Stats Can data says.

The national incarceration rate for provinces and territories came in at 83 per 100,000 adults in 2017-18. Manitoba registered a rate of 231 per 100,000 adults.

Of all the inmates serving time in the province — be it federal, provincial, or community-based sentences — 75 per cent were Indigenous. From 2007 to 2018, the number of Indigenous men and women entering custody in Manitoba rose by 60 per cent and 139 per cent, respectively.

“If you ever needed proof that the system is inherently racist, you’ve got it right there. Indigenous people are not committing crimes at a rate of 10 times that of non-Indigenous people,” Shefman said.

The management of correctional services is a responsibility divided between the federal and provincial or territorial governments. While the federal government handles adult offenders serving sentences of two years or more, lesser sentences or cases involving youth offenders fall under the purview of the provinces and territories.

A spokeswoman for Manitoba Justice told the Free Press the government recognizes the issues, but said improvements are being made through the criminal justice system modernization strategy launched by the province last year.

“The number of youth in custody has declined over the last year by approximately 14 per cent, but further improvements can be made. We have launched a review of the youth justice system to address the overlaps between it and the child-welfare system,” the spokeswoman said in a written statement.

“We have also recognized that Indigenous people are over-represented in our justice system as offenders and as victims.”

The province’s modernization strategy will aim to reduce the justice system’s reliance on custody, increase the use of restorative justice and diversion programs and building stronger reintegration supports for offenders, the spokeswoman said.

However, Shefman countered while Manitoba has made positive strides by implementing drug and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder courts, the province’s current modernization strategy is big on promises and light on details.

“It’s a bunch of government speak that accomplishes a whole lot of nothing. The solutions aren’t rocket science and they’re not novel. Manitoba needs to address a problem that is quickly becoming the new residential school,” Shefman said.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @rk_thorpe