Press Release: CAEFS’ Response to the OCI’s Recent Reporting “Proportion of Indigenous Women in Federal Custody Nears 50%” 

Indigenous women will soon account for 50% of all federally incarcerated women, according to a statement released today by the Office of the Correctional Investigator (OCI). The number of Indigenous women, and Indigenous people of all genders, has continued to rise even as the overall federal prison population is in decline. The OCI reported that since 2012, the overall number of Indigenous people in federal prison has increased by 18.1%, whereas the number of non-Indigenous people in federal prisons has decreased by 28.26% over the same period. This is a crisis and requires immediate action on the part of the Federal Government and all parts of the criminal legal system, including the Correctional Service of Canada.