NCJ Number
139209
Journal
Canadian Journal of Criminology Volume: 34 Issue: 3-4 Dated: special issue (July-October 1992) Pages: 281-297
Date Published
1992
Length
17 pages
Annotation
Current and future trends in criminal justice for Canadian aborigines center around customary law, community variation in the extent of and formal response to crime, community-based policing, courts and corrections, victimization of aboriginal women, and suicides in custody.
Abstract
John Braithwaite's theory of justice is discussed in the context of aboriginal criminal justice reliance on shame to understand the propensity toward criminal behavior and on reintegration as the means of controlling and responding to crime. Braithwaite's central tenet is that the way a society shames deviant members determines its crime level. At the heart of Braithwaite's argument is the belief that sanctions imposed on offenders by those whose opinions are important to them will have more effect than those imposed by a remote legal authority. The Braithwaite theory is useful in examining the high rate of aboriginal crime both on and off reserves and the weakening of traditional aboriginal institutions through processes of colonization, modernization, and mass communication. Following a discussion of aboriginal crime and delinquency, the erosion of traditional aboriginal institutions, communitarianism versus individualism, and formal and informal social control, the author concludes that Canadian aboriginal communities have the potential to demand resources that will enhance and shape their communities. They can reinforce communitarian values that hold people together and emphasize group loyalties over individual interests. Nonetheless, in communities where aborigines constitute the minority population, only a response that considers the many needs of those responsible for crime and disorder should be pursued. 21 references