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Years of life lost to incarceration: inequities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians Owusu-Bempah, Akwasi; Kanters, Steve; Druyts, Eric; Toor, Kabirraaj; Muldoon, Katherine A; Farquhar, John W; Mills, Edward J
Abstract
Background: Aboriginal representation in Canadian correctional institutions has increased rapidly over the past decade. We calculated “years of life lost to incarceration” for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians. Methods Incarceration data from provincial databases were used conjointly with demographic data to estimate rates of incarceration and years of life lost to provincial incarceration in (BC) and federal incarceration, by Aboriginal status. We used the Sullivan method to estimate the years of life lost to incarceration. Results Aboriginal males can expect to spend approximately 3.6 months in federal prison and within BC spend an average of 3.2 months in custody in the provincial penal system. Aboriginal Canadians on average spend more time in custody than their non-Aboriginal counterparts. The ratio of the Aboriginal incarceration rate to the non-Aboriginal incarceration rate ranged from a low of 4.28 in Newfoundland and Labrador to a high of 25.93 in Saskatchewan. Rates of incarceration at the provincial level were highest among Aboriginals in Manitoba with an estimated rate of 1377.6 individuals in prison per 100,000 population (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1311.8 – 1443.4). Conclusions The results indicate substantial differences in life years lost to incarceration for Aboriginal versus non-Aboriginal Canadians. In light of on-going prison expansion in Canada, future research and policy attention should be paid to the public health consequences of incarceration, particularly among Aboriginal Canadians.
Item Metadata
Title |
Years of life lost to incarceration: inequities between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians
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Creator | |
Publisher |
BioMed Central
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Date Issued |
2014-06-11
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Description |
Background:
Aboriginal representation in Canadian correctional institutions has increased rapidly over the past decade. We calculated “years of life lost to incarceration” for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Canadians.
Methods
Incarceration data from provincial databases were used conjointly with demographic data to estimate rates of incarceration and years of life lost to provincial incarceration in (BC) and federal incarceration, by Aboriginal status. We used the Sullivan method to estimate the years of life lost to incarceration.
Results
Aboriginal males can expect to spend approximately 3.6 months in federal prison and within BC spend an average of 3.2 months in custody in the provincial penal system. Aboriginal Canadians on average spend more time in custody than their non-Aboriginal counterparts. The ratio of the Aboriginal incarceration rate to the non-Aboriginal incarceration rate ranged from a low of 4.28 in Newfoundland and Labrador to a high of 25.93 in Saskatchewan. Rates of incarceration at the provincial level were highest among Aboriginals in Manitoba with an estimated rate of 1377.6 individuals in prison per 100,000 population (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1311.8 – 1443.4).
Conclusions
The results indicate substantial differences in life years lost to incarceration for Aboriginal versus non-Aboriginal Canadians. In light of on-going prison expansion in Canada, future research and policy attention should be paid to the public health consequences of incarceration, particularly among Aboriginal Canadians.
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Genre | |
Type | |
Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2015-11-05
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0215998
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URI | |
Affiliation | |
Citation |
BMC Public Health. 2014 Jun 11;14(1):585
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Publisher DOI |
10.1186/1471-2458-14-585
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Peer Review Status |
Reviewed
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Scholarly Level |
Faculty
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Copyright Holder |
Owusu-Bempah et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
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Rights URI | |
Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)