The number of people in correctional services is on a downward trend nationwide, according to a new report by Statistics Canada, but Aboriginal adults and youth are still overrepresented in the correctional system.
The report indicates that the number of adults and youth being supervised by correctional services in Canada has fallen by almost one-fifth since 2012/2013.
However, a higher rate of Aboriginal adults and youth are in correctional services compared to previous years.
In 2016/2017, 28 percent of admissions to provincial/territorial correctional services and 27 percent of admissions to federal correctional services were Aboriginal adults.
The figures show an increase compared to 2006/2007, when Aboriginal adults accounted for 21 percent of admissions to provincial/territorial correctional services (excluding Prince Edward Island and the Northwest Territories) and 19 percent to federal correctional services.
The numbers are alarming when considering the fact that Aboriginal adults make up about 5 percent of the Canadian adult population.
The same trend is true for Aboriginal youth, with 46 percent of 2016/2017 admissions to correctional services in 10 jurisdictions in Canada being Aboriginal youth, while making up only 8 percent of the general youth population.
