Alberta justice system given 'F' for failing to report Indigenous incarceration rate
Josee St-Onge | CBC News | Posted: March 5, 2018 10:25 PM | Last Updated: March 5, 2018
Province hasn’t publicly reported its Indigenous incarceration rates since 2012
Alberta's justice system received an F grade for failing to report the rate of Indigenous incarceration, in a 2017 justice system report card released Monday by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.
"Alberta has some pretty serious concerns with its criminal justice system," said the report's co-author, Benjamin Perrin, who teaches law at the University of British Columbia.
The province has not publicly released its rate of Indigenous incarceration since 2012, when it was at a historic high. Perrin said the lack of data is problematic.
"This is really critical information given the current concerns about the treatment of Indigenous persons by the criminal justice system. The public deserves to know."
Gap in reporting
In a statement, Alberta Justice said the gap in reporting data happened because the province implemented a new electronic system in 2013.
"We do have data for April 2014 onwards, and will be sharing it with Statistics Canada," said spokesperson Louise McEachern.
In 2015-16, Alberta Justice said, 37.2 percent of the men who were incarcerated in Alberta were identified as Indigenous. There was a slight increase the following year, with 37.8 percent of male inmates identified as Indigenous.
The proportion was much higher among female inmates, with Indigenous women representing 52.7 percent of the female inmate population in 2015-16. That proportion dropped slightly to 50.8 percent in 2016-17.
Province gets 'B' grade overall
The report grades provinces and territories in five categories: public safety, victims support, efficiency, fairness and access to justice, and costs and resources.
Alberta's ranking dropped from 6th to 7th, despite the province improving its overall grade from a C+ to a B when compared to the 2016 report card.
The report card also highlights that Alberta has one of the highest rates for property crime.
"Alberta also, unfortunately, does not have a very good record with average rates for actually solving those crimes," said Perrin.
The province received a C+ for the low clearance rates of violent and non-violent crime.
The report also identifies some positive trends. Alberta has the lowest rate of breach of probation in Canada.
The province also performed well in the area of costs and resources, earning a B+ overall by having the lowest average daily inmate cost in Canada.