Abstract

While Indigenous peoples account for a small portion of the Canadian population, they are overrepresented in the Canadian Criminal Justice System. Research and case law suggest culture should always be considered in violence risk assessments (VRAs), but it is unknown whether this recommendation is followed. The present study examined the role of Indigenous versus non-Indigenous culture in judicial opinions regarding evaluators’ VRA and expert witness testimony in Dangerous Offender and Long-Term Offender (DO/LTO) hearings under Canadian Law. 214 DO/LTO hearings from 2009-2016 where judges commented on VRAs submitted to the court were systematically identified via the Canadian Legal Information Institute database. Judicial comments were analyzed in cases with Indigenous and non-Indigenous defendants for discussions of culture and the prevalence of comments regarding qualities of the evaluator(s), qualities of the VRA(s) completed, and qualities of the evaluators’ expert testimony about the VRA. Judges considered culture meaningfully in 64% of Indigenous offenders’ cases. Discussion of VRA tools’ content was significantly more frequent in non-Indigenous cases; otherwise, frequency of non-cultural themes did not vary between case groups. Given the importance of considering culture in VRA, it is concerning that culture was considered in just over half of cases; improving this deficit is discussed.

摘要

虽然土著人民在加拿大人口中所占的比例很小，但在加拿大刑事司法系统中的代表人数却过多。研究和判例法建议在暴力风险评估（VRA）中应始终考虑文化，但未知是否遵循该建议。本研究考察了根据加拿大法律，在评估犯罪者和长期犯罪者（DO / LTO）听证会中，评估人的VRA和专家证人的司法意见中，土著文化与非土著文化的作用。通过加拿大法律信息研究所的数据库，系统地确定了从2009年至2016年的214次DO / LTO听证会，其中法官对提交给法院的VRA发表了评论。对土著和非土著被告的案件中的司法评论进行了分析，以讨论文化以及关于评估人的素质，完成的VRA的质量以及评估人对证人的专业证词的质量的评论的普遍性VRA。在64％的土著罪犯案件中，法官认为文化具有重要意义。在非土著案例中，对VRA工具内容的讨论明显更为频繁。否则，非文化主题的发生频率在不同病例组之间没有差异。考虑到在VRA中考虑文化的重要性，令人关注的是，在超过一半的案例中都考虑了文化。讨论了如何改善这一赤字。在64％的土著罪犯案件中，法官认为文化具有重要意义。在非土著案例中，对VRA工具内容的讨论明显更为频繁。否则，非文化主题的发生频率在不同病例组之间没有差异。考虑到在VRA中考虑文化的重要性，令人关注的是，在超过一半的案例中都考虑了文化。讨论了如何改善这一赤字。在64％的土著罪犯案件中，法官认为文化具有重要意义。在非土著案例中，对VRA工具内容的讨论明显更为频繁。否则，非文化主题的发生频率在不同病例组之间没有差异。考虑到在VRA中考虑文化的重要性，令人关注的是，在超过一半的案例中都考虑了文化。讨论了如何改善这一赤字。