Paper Topic:

Aboriginal People and the Criminal Justice System

Aboriginal People and the Criminal Justice System

Aboriginal People and the Criminal Justice System

Abstract

As in any society , Canada has cultural /racial differences which play a role in virtually every aspect of public life . One of the most important among these is the criminal justice system because of its link to civil rights and the very freedom of the individuals involved . For generations , the Aboriginal people have struggled for equality in the criminal justice system and elsewhere . For this reason , culture-based approaches are important when dealing with Aboriginal people in

the Canadian criminal justice system . This will explain exactly why the culture-based approaches are important , as well as how the approaches could be implemented . Upon conclusion of this , a greater understanding of this pivotal issue will be gained

A Tradition of Unequal Justice

Traditionally , the Aboriginal people of Canada have been plagued by unequal treatment within the criminal justice system largely misunderstood as unintelligent , rural people , somewhat backward in their ways , this entire race of people was vulnerable to mistreatment from the early days of Canadian settlement , with the mistreatment continuing into the 21st century (Wortley , 1999 . In recent decades , legislation such as amendments to the Canadian Constitution in the early 1980s granted special protections to the Aborigines against injustices based strictly upon their race , but the end result of that action after more than a quarter century is questionable , evidenced by the fact that while the Aborigines only make up about 3 of the Canadian population overall they make up nearly 15 of the Canadian prison population (Roach , 2000 A statistic as drastic as this can only lead to a few conclusions either the Aborigines are rampant criminals , or they receive unequal justice in comparison to the Caucasian majority , for example . Using the history of racial relations in Canada as a frame of reference , it is far more likely that the Aborigines have been discriminated against and jailed in large numbers , rather than a criminal epidemic in a tiny fraction of a huge national population . Therefore , the question of why a culture-based approach to this problem is needed comes to light

Culture-Based Approach to Equal Justice

Because of the victimization of the Aborigines in the Canadian criminal justice system , the pursuit of justice must be culture-based to level the playing field so to speak and to restore justice to an oppressed minority . This is important not only to administer uniform justice going forward , but also to address past wrongs done against the Aborigines . Restorative justice , it should be pointed out , is far from reverse discrimination rather , it is a powerful remedy for a powerful problem . This culture-based approach must use as its foundation the laws that were passed in 1982 as Constitutional amendments , designed to provide the justice that was stripped from the Aborigines for hundreds of years (Roach , 2000 . Legally , this gives protection where previously there was

Strictly from a cultural viewpoint , the criminal justice system as it applies to Aborigines must likewise be...

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