Purpose
The purpose of this briefing note is to inform the Communities of Support Directorate of prisoners’ issues and to get them the support they need in order to cope with being incarcerated. This briefing note will summarize the issues at hand for the prisoners, additionally it will discuss the lack of support from the Federal Government of Canada. Furthermore, methods to help these prisoners reintegrate themselves back into society will be discussed.
Current Situation
The current situation in Canada is that most prisoners in sentenced custody have one or more of the six areas of need in prison. According to Statistics Canada, prisoners in Saskatchewan usually have four of the six rehabilitative needs. These needs are as follows (in …show more content…
It is often challenging for any convict to get a job once they have completed their sentence. Needless to say, convicts who are still serving time in prison likewise experience oppression and marginalization while in prison. Groups that face the most oppression and discrimination in and out of prison is arguably the Aboriginals who are the most overrepresented group in prisons. Females also experience oppression in prisons and even after they have served their sentence. Being Aboriginal and female makes for “double discrimination”. Aboriginal women are extremely overrepresented in Canadian prisons, as they make up about 3% of the general population yet they make up 23% of the women’s prison population (McGill, 2008). Canadian Aboriginals are considered by many the most marginalized group in all of Canada, especially imprisoned Aboriginals who experience racial discrimination, and discrimination in child protection and criminal justice agencies (Bracken et al, 2009). Another growing concern for prisoners is suicide. Suicide is a huge risk for prisoners in Canada, especially those who find themselves in solitary confinement. Nearly half of prison suicides came …show more content…
It is an unusually cruel way to punish a prisoner who is already isolated from family and the community. As for Aboriginals reintegrating society, the best way may actually be through Aboriginal spiritual and cultural healing through an elder in their respective communities. Meeting with an elder can drastically reduce the recidivism rate for Aboriginals; those who met and discussed with an elder had a recidivism rate of 12.9% compared with the 26.8% recidivism rate of those who did not meet with an Aboriginal elder (Millward, 2011). Traditional methods on reintegration into the community can work and apply to Aboriginal Canadians. However the best technique may be through cultural healing, spiritual healing and speaking with an Aboriginal elder from the
The purpose of this briefing note is to inform the Communities of Support Directorate of prisoners’ issues and to get them the support they need in order to cope with being incarcerated. This briefing note will summarize the issues at hand for the prisoners, additionally it will discuss the lack of support from the Federal Government of Canada. Furthermore, methods to help these prisoners reintegrate themselves back into society will be discussed.
Current Situation
The current situation in Canada is that most prisoners in sentenced custody have one or more of the six areas of need in prison. According to Statistics Canada, prisoners in Saskatchewan usually have four of the six rehabilitative needs. These needs are as follows (in …show more content…
It is often challenging for any convict to get a job once they have completed their sentence. Needless to say, convicts who are still serving time in prison likewise experience oppression and marginalization while in prison. Groups that face the most oppression and discrimination in and out of prison is arguably the Aboriginals who are the most overrepresented group in prisons. Females also experience oppression in prisons and even after they have served their sentence. Being Aboriginal and female makes for “double discrimination”. Aboriginal women are extremely overrepresented in Canadian prisons, as they make up about 3% of the general population yet they make up 23% of the women’s prison population (McGill, 2008). Canadian Aboriginals are considered by many the most marginalized group in all of Canada, especially imprisoned Aboriginals who experience racial discrimination, and discrimination in child protection and criminal justice agencies (Bracken et al, 2009). Another growing concern for prisoners is suicide. Suicide is a huge risk for prisoners in Canada, especially those who find themselves in solitary confinement. Nearly half of prison suicides came …show more content…
It is an unusually cruel way to punish a prisoner who is already isolated from family and the community. As for Aboriginals reintegrating society, the best way may actually be through Aboriginal spiritual and cultural healing through an elder in their respective communities. Meeting with an elder can drastically reduce the recidivism rate for Aboriginals; those who met and discussed with an elder had a recidivism rate of 12.9% compared with the 26.8% recidivism rate of those who did not meet with an Aboriginal elder (Millward, 2011). Traditional methods on reintegration into the community can work and apply to Aboriginal Canadians. However the best technique may be through cultural healing, spiritual healing and speaking with an Aboriginal elder from the