Lecture 7: Aboriginal Youth and the Criminal Justice Process Flashcards
What has caused youth crime?
Historical policies, practices, and processes that have resulted in severe and entrenched trauma among generations of Aboriginal peoples in this country.
Aboriginal
Individuals who identify as First Nations, Metis, or Inuit.
Crime can be understood to be about ___ and ___ relationships.
Harm, harmed.
According to Aboriginal values, what is criminal behaviour?
An expression of victimization and traumatization due to broken relationships.
Values
Collective conception of what is considered proper, desirable, and good (and vice-versa) in a culture.
Understanding the offender and the context within which he or she has ‘chosen’ to commit an offence leads us to consider the value of a ___ ___ in dealing with such offenders.
Healing perspective.
2 key factors to be considered:
- The shared experiences of Aboriginal peoples in their relations with settlers.
- Intergenerational trauma.
Intergenerational Trauma
The repercussions of which are felt in the daily lived experiences of Aboriginal youth.
Criminalization
The process whereby individuals are assigned the label ‘criminal.’
R v Gladue
Celebrating 19th birthday in 1995, and threatened to kill her boyfriend whom she suspected was having an affair with her sister. Stabbed her boyfriend in the chest. Charged with second degree murder but was convicted of manslaughter.
Aboriginal youth are more likely to live with:
- A lone parent of either sex.
- A grandparent with no parent present.
- Another relative.
Aboriginal children are more likely to be raised by ___ parents.
Younger.
Nearly half of off-reserve First nations children and a third of Metis children live in…
Low income homes.
First Nations demonstrate a higher school ___ rate.
Dropout.
Unemployment rates of Aboriginal youth were at least ___ as high as non-Aboriginal youth in the western provinces.
Twice.
Aboriginal individuals between 15 and 24 have a higher level of ___ than non-Aboriginals (related to crime).
Victimization.
Relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples are marred by…
Broken relations and promises.
Colonization
Historial and ongoing processes that began with arrival of Europeans to the country and that include attempts to dominate and assimilate indigenous peoples.
Who is associated with the Colonial Model?
Frantz Fanon.
The colonial model is a ___ ___ perspective.
Socio-psychological.
Colonial Model
Focuses on the intersection of “structural oppression, alienation, and three adaptive forms of behaviour – assimilation crime or deviance, and protest.”
The Colonial Model asks how systematic oppression…
Shapes outcomes in people’s lives.
Crime and protest tend to trend ___.
Together.
4 stages of colonization:
- Invasion of territory.
- Formation of a colonial society.
- Governing of natives.
- Development of a caste system based on racism.
In the first stage of colonization, what is the key goal?
Valuable resources.
In the second stage of colonization, what are some symptoms?
Cultural imposition, cultural disintegration, and cultural re-creation.
What is used in the third stage of colonization?
Representatives of the colonizer’s power (police and military).
What are some ways that a caste system based on racism can affect society?
Access to jobs, education, etc. vs. an economy of disadvantage for natives.
Does either culture remain in its pure form after colonization? If so, which?
No. There can be an unequal balance though.
Mentacide
Deliberate and systematic destruction of a group’s minds with the ultimate objective being the extirpation of the group.
Desire for the ___ plays a role in the Colonial Model.
Colonizer.
One of the problems identified by the Colonial Model is that each member of the colonized group bears the burden of…
Proving that s/he is not inferior to the dominant group.
“Cultural Limbo”
Being neither here nor there, Double Alienation.
What happens in “Cultural Limbo?”
- Shedding one’s native identity, language, and customs.
- Self-hate.
- Internalized anger and horizontal rather than vertical violence.
- Revolutionary action.
Linking ___ experiences to history is essential to understanding issues Aboriginal youth face today.
Traumatic.
The residential schools made systematic efforts to…
Assimilate Aboriginal children into mainstream society by removing the ‘Indian within them’ in a process of :aggressive civilization.”
Educational institutions are based on academic to vocational streams around ___ ___ values.
Judeo-Christian.
Aboriginals are marginalized on ___ and ___ grounds.
Economic, racial.
Trauma
Community-level and individual-level damage, pain, and suffering (physical, spiritual, emotional, and psychological).
Victimization
Experience of being a victim.
Historical Trauma Transmission Model
How historical trauma manifests itself socially and psychologically.
Who is associated with the Historical Trauma Transmission Model?
Weslet-Esquimaux and Smolewski.
Historical Trauma Transmission Model emphasizes the ___ and ___ consequences of colonialism.
Social, psychological.
Historical Trauma Transmission Model demonstrates how…
Acculturation and a loss of social self is often associated with alcoholism, drug addiction, family disintegration, and suicide.
The Historical Trauma Transmission Model says that people experience physical extermination, cultural genocide, and colonial subjugation, leading to…
Learned helplessness.
Learned Helplessness
No matter what you do, you cannot break free of restrictions.
How are traumatic memories transmitted?
- Biological channels.
- Cultural means through story-telling, culturally sanctioned behaviours.
- Social avenues through inadequate parenting (lateral violence or abuse).
- Psychological means through memory processes.
Qualitative studies have consistently linked the residential school system to ___ and ___ in Aboriginal communities.
Abuse, suicidal thoughts.
What supports the notion of trauma transmission?
The linking of residential schools with abuse and suicidal thoughts in Aboriginal communities.
How do Aboriginal youths turn to crime?
Since marginalization and disenfranchisement mean there are limited options for finding self-worth, Aboriginal youth turn to criminal behaviours and gang involvements to provide such an option.
Identity issues have implications for ___ ___.
Self-esteem.
Recent reports find strong connections between low-esteem and problems such as…
Aggression and antisocial behaviour.
For many Aboriginal youth, the situation is such that risk factors tend to outweigh the ___ ___.
Protective factors.
What is a common experience of Aboriginal youth that contributes to higher rates of risk?
Intergenerational trauma.
The common thread among socio-cultural explanations for criminal behaviour is the…
Critical importance of the interaction between an individual and others in his or her immediate and extended social world.
It is important to explore the ___ between demographic variables, such as poverty, race, and neighbourhood.
Interrelationship.
Does poverty cause crime?
No, but living in a poorer neighbourhood increases the likelihood of interpersonal crime.
What are the demographic factors that have been implicated in the likelihood of criminalization and victimization?
Poverty, race, and neighbourhood.
What does FASD demonstrate?
The ways in which biological, psychological, and social influences coalesce in such a manner as to heighten the risk of both victimization and criminalization.
Why is there a concern with Aboriginal youth gangs?
Perceived growth in these groups, as well as the increasingly violent nature of their activities.
What is an attraction to gangs for young Aboriginal people?
The media sensationalization of these groups.
What is one of the main underlying causes of gang association for Aboriginal youth?
Search for identity.
What are some reasons Aboriginal youths going gangs, besides the search for identity?
- The promise of money and excitement.
- Prestige and status for members.
- Protection and loyalty.
- Recruitment by family members.
- Intergenerational gang involvement.
Aboriginal community members and researchers suggest that the root contributing factor for youth crime and gangs is based on the generational…
‘Piling up’ of trauma and grief.
Attribution of Responsibility
Not only for the criminal action itself, but also the conditions ad response of the conditions that gave rise to the criminal behaviour in the first place.
What is one of the factors and influences that put Aboriginal youths at risk and promotes negative outcomes?
Incarceration.
Duality of Structure (Anthony Gibbons)
Agency and structure are neutrally reinforcing and synergetic. Human actions shape structure of society, which in turn shapes human actions.
Give an example of the duality of structure.
Our actions produce consequences, which shape our actions.
The ___ ___ needs to recognize the perspectives, values, and beliefs shared by Aboriginal peoples.
Dominant culture.
Aboriginal Values
- Get along with the group.
- Get ahead for the group.
- Focuses on the present.
- Does not show fear.
- Uses nature and maintains reverence respect, relationship with land.
- Awareness of the creator.
- Acts of religion are spontaneous.
Non-Aboriginal Values
- Get ahead.
- Get ahead for oneself.
- Focus on future.
- Does not always face difficult situations with an impassive face.
- Uses nature for personal use.
- Spirituality is background.
- Religion compartmentalized.
Western justice systems are ___.
Adversarial.
Adversarial Approach
Where two sides go against each other, and both sides do everything they can to beat the other.
The idea of admitting guilt is a ___ justice idea.
Western.
In which justice system is there a reluctance to testify?
Aboriginal.
Which justice system believes in truth?
Western.
Failure to make eye contact is often seen as a sign of lying. However, what is an alternative explanation?
It may be a sign of disrespect in some cultures.
Compare the function of justice in Western and Aboriginal societies.
In Western societies, try to ensure conformity, punishing the deviant, and protect society. In Aboriginal, heal the offender, restore peace and harmony in community, and reconcile offender with victim.
In which justice system is punishment not the objective?
Aboriginal.
How is incarceration seen in Aboriginal justice?
As absolving the offender of responsibility of restitution to the victim.
Cultural Theories of Crime
Examine the traits, characteristics, or way pf life of an identifiable group to explain the involvement of members of that group in the criminal justice process.
2 strands in cultural theories of Aboriginal overrepresentation:
- Aboriginal cultures are inherently violent.
- Cultural conflict theory.
Aboriginal Cultures are Inherently Violent
Though external intervention is responsible for some violence, there are some deeply rooted cultural values that at least allow violence to exist.
Cultural Conflict Theory
Says that Aboriginal culture is different from Euro-Canadian culture, and that they come from a different understanding of justice. Norms and values are different, and may not be compatible.
What are criticisms of the cultural explanations of Aboriginal crime?
- Presuppose a monolithic culture.
- Presuppose a static Aboriginal culture that is uninfluenced.
- Assumption of a kind of behaviour that constitutes Aboriginal behaviour.
- Pathologies Aboriginal peoples’ cultures and/or present them as relics of the past.
What is the most important criticism of the cultural explanations of Aboriginal crime?
There seems to be an assumption that there is a peculiar kind of behaviour that constitutes Aboriginal behaviour.
A criticism of cultural explanations Aboriginal crime says that they give far too simplistic explanations. What is suggested by this?
That we should not just celebrate, but also integrate Aboriginals into society.
Aboriginal people also face de-culturaliation, acculturation, assimilation, but also ___ exclusion.
Structural.
Can structural exclusion and assimilation happen together?
Yes.
Critical Race Theory
Adopts a social constructionist approach to race, the laws, and “justice.”
Social Constructionist Approach
Things are real because people see them as real.
Who came up with Critical Race Theory?
Derrick Bell.
Emerged in the 1980’s as a counter-hegemonic strategy.
Critical Race Theory.
What are some assumptions by the Critical Race Theory?
- The law reflects the dominant group’s norms and values and favours such groups.
- The enforcement of the law is biased.
- The interpretation of the law is a subjective process.
- The law is not colour-blind.
- Racism in the justices process is not an aberration; rather, it is “normal.”
Aboriginal youth in the criminal justice system…
- Have more charges laid against them.
- Are less likely to benefit from legal representation.
- Are more often detained before trial.
- Are detained for longer periods.
According to Emmanuel Levinas, how do we deal with the other?
- As an extension of the self.
- As an alien to the self.
What did Jock Young say in 1999?
The imputation of criminality to the deviant other is a necessary part of exclusion.
Aboriginal peoples make up 4% of the Canadian population and 6% of the Canadian youth population, but make up a much ___ proportion of the prison population.
Higher.
Aboriginal ___ youth are more highly over-represented in youth custody.
Female.
While the population of inmates has seen 16.5% growth in the past 10 years, the number of Aboriginal persons in prisons has increased by __%.
46.
What are factors that can lead to a higher Aboriginal incarceration rate?
Factors include increase in the population (probably not the case), migration (probably not this either), or policing.
What proportion of federal inmates are Aboriginal?
1 in 4.
Number of Aboriginal females in prisons has increased by __%.
80.
Who is the greatest person you’ve ever met?
Your girlfriend. Duh 💁🏻
