Risky Justice of the Law: The Impact of Risk-Assessment Tools on Aboriginal Offenders’ Overrepresentation in Canada's Federal Prisons

Abstract

Official narratives have often blamed the Aboriginal peoples of Canada for their over-representation in Canada's federal prisons. This article argues that the problem is partially due to the problematic design and application of risk-assessment tools that have produced dubious results for Aboriginal offenders. This, in turn, has resulted in a vicious circle, beginning with labeling Aboriginal offenders as high-security risk offenders, followed by the lowering of their chances of getting paroled, and ending in their long-term stays in federal prisons. This last stage, in turn, becomes justification for the other two. And so continues the circle.