FINAL EXAM Youth In Conflict With the Law

Historical policies aimed at Indigenous peoples in Canada

Were aimed at “civilizing” and assimilating Indigenous peoples

Created a legacy of violence and fear that is carried by youth today

What does the data on victimization reveal

Victimized youth are more vulnerable to becoming involved in the CJS

Indigenous youth Risk Factors

Low self-worth and not fitting in lead Indigenous youth to turn to criminal behaviour

Indigenous offenders share common background characteristics

1. Impoverished background

2. Unstable family environment

3. Suffering abuse

4. Substance abuse issues

5. Negative peer association (with bad people)

6. Difficulties forming or maintaining peer relationships

Why is the term “at risk” problematic

It turns structural issues, such as widespread poverty, into individual problems, ignores systemic racism

It places responsibility on the individual to deal with problems on their own

Where does Intergenerational Trauma come from

Comes from the taking of land, assimilation efforts in Residential Schools, attempts at genocide, and loss of culture

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)

Affects an individual's physical, cognitive, behavioural, and social functioning

Increases risk of victimization

Study on Indigenous youth in the Child Welfare System

Over 50% of participants were in the care of the Child Welfare System at some point in their lives

37% had 3-6 foster placements

21% had 11 or more placements

STR8 Up

An organization that liberates individuals from gangs and street lifestyles

Indigenous & based in Saskatoon

Indigenous conditions that lead to crime

Needs not being met in children’s childhood

Needing to steal basic things to live as a result of poverty

Substance abuse, suffering violence, bouncing around foster homes

Getting involved in gangs at a young age

Addiction passed down through generations in the family

Generational trauma passed down through generations in the family

Self-fulfilling prophecy of family criminality

How does incarceration impact Indigenous youth

There is no healing or way to get actual help in the CJS

No support, just a means of punishment

Making criminal connections with gangs in prisons is easy

No practicing of cultures or traditions within institutions

Decolonization includes two main components

1. Visibility (because colonization has made people invisible)

2. Action and Reconciliation

Dismantle practices that are grounded in colonialism and stereotypes

Any approach must be situated against a backdrop where systemic social issues are addressed and where structural change is the goal

Tina Fontaine

She became a poster child for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls

Child welfare let Tina out of their custody even though she was flagged

Doctors found she was underweight, had traces of drugs and alcohol in her body, but she was still released hours later

Social workers dropped her off at a hotel by herself because shelters were overpopulated, 9 days later her body was found

Police did not do their due diligence in looking for her (or verifying her identity when she was pulled over with a man)

Police, doctors, social workers all failed her.

Mama Bear Clan

Created in response to the death of Tina Fontaine

Patrolling the streets and keeping people safe, doing community outreach

Residential schools

Residential schools were created in 1849 under The Indian Act

Students were forbidden to speak their own language or grow their hair long

3,200 children died of malnourishment, tuberculosis, and other diseases

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)

Emerged in 2007 from the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement

Was tasked with documenting the experiences of over 6,500 people affected by residential schools

The Indigenous population stats

Younger on average

Higher unemployment rates

More likely to live in crowded conditions and have higher residential mobility

Children are more likely to be members of a lone-parent family

Have lower levels of education

How many First Nations children live in poverty on reserves

53% of First Nations children living on reserves in Canada live in poverty

Indigenous children in Canada are almost twice as likely to live in poverty than non-indigenous children

How many Indigenous people report sexual victimization in youth

16% of Indigenous people report sexual victimization prior to the age of 15

(affected to some extent by the fact that the Indigenous population in Canada is younger on average)

Rate of violent victimization among Indigenous people

The overall rate of violent victimization among Indigenous people is more than double that of non-Indigenous people

Indigenous youth overrepresentation in the CJS

The proportion of Indigenous youth in custody relative to their proportion in the population:

Five times higher for males

Seven times higher females

*Most pronounced in British Columbia, Manitoba, and Ontario

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

FASD is the result of maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

60% of individuals with FASD run into trouble with the law

The estimated prevalence of FASD in the general Canadian population is 4%

Indigenous Transiency

Indigenous people in Canada experience high mobility: migration between reserves and urban areas occurs frequently.

Linked to lack of belonging, poverty, and homelessness

The attraction to gangs felt by young people

Partly based on media sensationalization of gang culture: presents a glamorous “gangsta” identity and lifestyle that provides money, drugs, sex, and status

Media, race gangs, and moral panic

The media portrays racialized youth as more dangerous, more likely to be in gangs, and that makes a moral panic where people believe that all racialized youth participate in criminal behaviour

Contributes to the belief that the increase of gangs are due to immigration communities and immigration policies are responsible for bringing gangs and crime into our country

Foreign-born youth and gangs

Foreign-born youth are less likely to engage in crime and less likely to report gang membership

The majority of gang members in Canada are white

Youth Entrance into gangs as a process

It is a gradual process that is marked by their disintegration of relationships with families, school, and community

They go and seek out relationships with youth with similar experiences

Where do racialized populations live

More than 95 % of the racialized populations lived in large urban centres.

7 out of 10 visible minority immigrants live in Toronto, Vancouver, or Montreal

Non-traditional risk factors for entering gangs

Displayed by Indo-Canadian/South Asian youth gang members

Part of well-functioning families that had sufficient resources and connections to their cultural identity.

They came from middle-class and wealthy families, had access to good education, and were raised in an environment designed to make life easier for them

The widespread acceptance of the gangster image among young Indo-Canadian youth has led to the acceptance of “gangsterism” as a means to attain quick money and enjoy the pleasure of power and respect that comes with it

Differential Involvement Hypothesis

The hypothesis that minority youth are overrepresented in police encounters because they commit more crime for longer periods in life and more serious crimes

Differential Selection Hypothesis

The hypothesis that minority youth are overrepresented in police encounters because of the tactics and priorities of the police, including aggressive surveillance

Mixed-Model Hypothesis

The hypothesis that differential involvement and differential treatment produce racial disparities in criminal justice outcomes, with involvement possibly being more important at the earlier stages of the criminal justice process and selection, affecting later processing

Disproportionate Minority Contact

Consistent overrepresentation of minorities in police-citizen contacts, relative to their representation in the population

One study of DMC found that visible minorities from the ages of 12-17 were three times more likely to report police contact - attributed to racially discriminatory policing

Order-Maintenance Strategies

Aggressive policing strategies targeting high-crime areas through proactive stops, searches, and arrests for minor crimes

Social Ecology of Crime

Opportunities for crime events are most concentrated in areas with higher levels of socio-economic disadvantage and disorder. These areas are also prone to higher levels of police supervision

Street Checks

Black men are street checked 3.4 times their representation in the population

Black and Indigenous people are disproportionately represented in street-check data, making up a quarter of all street checks of young people

Police violence

Police violence is a leading cause of death for young Black men and boys in the US.

• 2.5 times more likely to be killed by the police

Black police violence stats

Between 2013 and 2017, the Black police-shooting death rate was nearly 20 times higher than the White rate.

Between 2000 and 2020 there were 550 fatal encounters with police in Canada.

Indigenous people represented 16% of deaths and less than 5% of the population. Black people represented close to 9% of deaths and less than 3% of the population.

FASD and incarceration rates

Research shows high rates of FASD and other intellectual disabilities for incarcerated children

Children with FASD are disproportionately present in youth justice systems due to cognitive and behavioural challenges

Australia study on incarcerated children and mental impairment

A 2017 study in Western Australia's Banksia Hill Detention Centre found 89% of incarcerated children diagnosed with severe cognitive impairment and 36% diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)

The school to detention pipeline

School policies and practices may be contributing to an unnecessary and inappropriate flow of children and youth with disabilities, especially minority children, into the youth justice system

Banksia Hill study

The results of the Banksia Hill study from Western Australia found nine out of 10 kids detained there had some kind of impairment

Darwin and Alice Springs also have very high levels. (Towns in Australia)

First Nations youth in Australia

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Children are extremely over-represented in Australian youth justice

First Nations youth were 27 times as likely to be in detention in 2023

Alice Springs Indigenous Youth

In Alice Springs, it is extremely unusual to find a child who is not Indigenous in the detention centre

The speaker said he encountered 2 non-Indigenous youths in his 10 years there

The main four questions people ask about authorities

1. Did authorities treat me with respect?

2. Did authorities give me an opportunity to give my side of the story?

3. Did authorities demonstrate neutrality in decision making?

4. Do I believe authorities have trustworthy motives?

4 parts of Procedural Justice

1. Respect

2. Voice

Allowing individuals to contribute to the decision-making process and tell their side of the story.

3. Neutrality

Demonstrated through principled conduct free from bias, prejudice or discrimination.

2. Trustworthy Motives

The degree to which individuals believe authorities are concerned about their well-being and act in accordance with their best interests.

Race based traumatic stress

Racism is a severe stressor for affected minorities

Can play a direct role in the development of PTSD and trauma related symptoms

Group-Value Model of Procedural Justice

How authorities treat people signals their place in society.

If someone is treated with respect, they feel valued. If they are treated rudely, it suggests they have a lower status in the group.

The Threat Response System

Very frightening or distressing events may result in psychological harm.

This harm is called trauma and can affect a person's ability to cope, function or respond normally

Trauma affected brains maintain less control over their response to danger and stressful events.

Hypervigilance

Trauma affected individuals experiencing hypervigilance, hyperarousal and related trauma symptoms maintain high states of alert.

Sustaining a constant state of alert has negative consequences for an individual's capacity to evaluate risk.

These individuals may have difficulty relaxing and constantly scan their environment for danger.

Vulnerability of Children to Trauma

Children's brains are not fully developed and developmentally in a state of constant change.

For children, trauma responses are exacerbated because their prefrontal cortex is not fully developed.

Badgley Report (1985)

Issue of youth involved in systems of sex work gained prominence in the 80s with Badgley Report (1985)

Badgley suggests that “youth prostitution is the sexual abuse of a young person rather than a case of delinquency by a youth”

Sex Exploitation

Youth involvement in sex work is almost always considered forced; therefore, its referred to as exploitation

More girls than boys are exploited (males makeup 1-25% of the trade)

Indigenous women and girls are the most vulnerable to exploitation

LGBTQ+ homeless youth and sex exploitation

LGBTQ+ youth are a particularly vulnerable to becoming homeless

Over 10% of homeless female youth and 50% of homeless sexual minority male youth report exchanging sex for money or basic needs

Initiation into sex work - 6 ways

1. Predisposing factors like poverty, abuse, neglect, or trauma

2. Acquiring money is the number one motivating factor

3. Survival

4. Coming from families where street-based networks are common and normalized, and pathways into sex trade work are easily accessible

5. Facilitated through partners, friends, older sex workers, pimps

6. Substance use is both a pathway and barrier to exiting

Impact of involvement in sex work

Fatigue, homelessness

Vulnerable to HIV infection

Difficulty feeling good about oneself

Feeling of being trapped

Violence

Social stigma

Anti-sex work feminist perspective

Pushes legislation to criminalize the buying of sex

Pro-sex work feminism

Redefine their experience with sex and embrace all definitions and elements of sexual expression

Considered legitimate work, and should be regulated the same way as other workplaces

Guest speaker week 13

Selena Joseph from Victim Services Sarnia Lambton

Indigenous men in trafficking

61% of young men in sex work are Indigenous and 83% of them were runaways

A relationship between childhood abuse and sex work

Causes it for both men and women

Drugs and sex work

Research finds that using drugs more than two times per week increases the risk of prostitution by 2.7 times

Substance abuse is both a pathway into prostitution and a coping mechanism for it

Homelessness in youth sex workers

One study found that 69% of youth sex workers experienced absolute homelessness

Sex work impacting health

Linked to chronic health problems

Vulnerable to HIV - through drugs and unsafe sex

High rates of mental health problems

Faced with restricted access to health care services

Some report suicidal thoughts but some find community

Violence against sex workers

Being victimized by clients is the most predominant fear

Over half report violence as an everyday occurence

Police and sex workers

Sex workers report negative experiences with police

60% of the time they are seen as victims and 40% of the time they are seen as offenders

Bill C-15

Introduced in 1988 to criminalize the sexual procurement of youth

Protective Confinement aka Involuntary Coercive Holding

Permits police to apprehend anyone under the age of 18 who is involved in prostitution without a court order

Three types of services for youth sex workers in Canada

1. Mandated Services (that welfare agents have to give to children)

2. Specialized Legislation (laws made for youth specifically)

3. Non-governmental services (Non profit and advocacy groups)

Youth sex workers and the Child Welfare System

One study found that 63% of sexually exploited youth had involvement in the CWS

Victimization-focused policies

Victimization-focused policies can be dangerous because, while they aim to protect, they often strip young people of agency, justify increased surveillance and control, push them into “normalizing” systems, and obscure the structural causes of their situation—like poverty, inequality, and limited opportunities—ultimately failing to address their actual needs and lived realities

What is the rate of assault for Indigenous women

More than 63% of Indigenous women experience physical or sexual assault in their lifetime

What do Indigenous women believe about police

Indigenous women are more than twice as likely to report having little or no confidence in police compared to non-Indigenous people

What is Intergenerational Trauma linked to

Intergenerational Trauma is linked to domestic violence, substance abuse, and harsh parenting

Four sociological models used to explain the relationship between immigration and crime

(1. The Importation Model)

1. The Importation Model

Presents a direct relationship between crime and immigration

Believes that youth who come to Canada from countries where crime is common are more likely to commit crimes in Canada

Leads to moral panic towards certain ethnic groups

Four sociological models used to explain the relationship between immigration and crime

(2. The Strain Model)

2. The Strain Model

Recognizes that criminal behaviour in immigrant youth is a result of their disadvantaged position in the host country

The social and economic experiences of immigrants are marked by difficulties in seeking employment, low household incomes, and discrimination in housing, education, and politics

This multiple marginality pushes youth toward street socialization

Instead of law enforcement options, the focus should be on resolving social injustice and eliminating the economic disadvantages of immigrants

Four sociological models used to explain the relationship between immigration and crime

(3. The Cultural Conflict Model)

3. The Cultural Conflict Model

Argues that racialized youth bring cultural practices from home that condone actions such as violence, prostitution, and drug use/trafficking

Does not explain criminal behaviour for racialized youth born in Canada

Four sociological models used to explain the relationship between immigration and crime

(4. The Bias Model)

4. The Bias Model

Argues that the overrepresentation of racialized groups in the CJS is a result of racial discrimination and bias within the CJS

Youth face discrimination at the hands of the CJS resulting in being more likely to come under intense police surveillance; also more likely to be arrested and convicted