NCJ Number
139216
Journal
Canadian Journal of Criminology Volume: 34 Issue: 3-4 Dated: special issue (July-October 1992) Pages: 417-434
Date Published
1992
Length
18 pages
Annotation
This analysis employs an ownership perspective of crime and disorder in Canadian communities with aboriginal populations.
Abstract
The aboriginal criminal justice environment was divided into two separate areas, on reserve with a majority aboriginal population and off reserve with a minority aboriginal population. Research focused on nine James Bay communities and looked at the nature and scope of crime and order problems, customary law and practices, and police and alternate dispute resolution. In making the case that crime and disorder were owned in the Cree communities of Quebec, attention was paid to four factors: attrition, nature of crime and disorder, offender characteristics and repetition, and community variations. Findings demonstrated that communities, for one reason or another, maintain most crime and disorder problems at the local level even in the absence of traditional practices of social control. Off reserve, the issue of the criminal justice system rather than communities absorbing and thus owning offenses suggests a reexamination of sentencing practices, particularly those based on incarceration for nonviolent offenses. Recommendations emphasize the establishment of community-based initiatives. 21 references and 3 notes