Abstract

Indigenous individuals are vastly over-represented among people incarcerated in Canada. We collected extensive clinical information and outcome data from Review Board (RB) files and obtained lifetime criminal records for 1800 individuals found Not Criminally Responsible on Account of Mental Disorder (NCRMD) in BC (n = 222), ON (n = 484), and QC (n = 1094). Indigenous and non-Indigenous people were compared on (a) socio-demographic, clinical, and criminal histories; (b) index offenses; (c) processing by the RB; and (d) recidivism. Compared to published rates of the disproportionate incarceration of Indigenous people in prisons in Canada (30%), just 3.9% of people in custody with an NCRMD finding were identified as Indigenous. Compared to non-Indigenous people, Indigenous people had higher rates of substance use disorders, personality disorders, and lower rates of mood disorders at verdict and came from low population density neighborhoods but high population density homes. Indigenous individuals were detained in custody longer and remained under supervision longer than non-Indigenous individuals but recidivated at similar rates. Criminal histories, mental health characteristics, and index offenses of Indigenous people found NCRMD were similar to non-Indigenous people found NCRMD. Further research is required to determine if seriously mentally ill Indigenous people who come into contact with the justice system are considered for the NCRMD defense similarly to non-Indigenous people and to explore why Indigenous individuals receive more restrictive dispositions, yet time to reoffending is similar.

摘要

在加拿大被监禁的人中，土著人所占比例过高。我们从审查委员会 (RB) 文件中收集了广泛的临床信息和结果数据，并获得了 1800 名因精神障碍 (NCRMD) 不负刑事责任的人的终生犯罪记录，这些人位于 BC省 (n = 222)、ON (n =  484 )  、和质量控制（n = 1094）。对土著人和非土著人在以下方面进行了比较：(a) 社会人口统计、临床和犯罪史；(b) 索引犯罪；(c) 由 RB 处理；(d) 累犯。与公布的加拿大监狱中原住民被监禁比例过高 (30%) 相比，根据 NCRMD 调查结果，只有 3.9% 的被拘留者被确定为原住民。与非原住民相比，原住民的物质使用障碍、人格障碍发生率较高，情绪障碍发生率较低，并且原住民来自人口密度较低的社区，但居住在人口密度较高的家庭。土著人被拘留的时间和受到监管的时间比非土著人更长，但重犯率相似。犯罪史、心理健康特征、发现 NCRMD 的原住民的犯罪指数与发现 NCRMD 的非原住民的犯罪指数相似。需要进一步研究，以确定与司法系统接触的患有严重精神疾病的原住民是否会像非原住民一样被考虑接受 NCRMD 辩护，并探讨为什么原住民会受到更多限制性处置，但重新犯罪的时间却相似。