Race and Incarceration: The Representation and Characteristics of Black People in Provincial Correctional Facilities in Ontario, Canada

• Published date: 01 October 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/21533687211006461
• Author: Akwasi Owusu-Bempah,Maria Jung,Firdaous Sbaï,Andrew S. Wilton,Fiona Kouyoumdjian
• Date: 01 October 2023
• Subject Matter: Research Note

Research Note

Race and Incarceration:

The Representation and

Characteristics of Black

People in Provincial

Correctional Facilities in

Ontario, Canada

Akwasi Owusu-Bempah

1,2

, Maria Jung

3

,

Firdaous Sbaı

¨

1

, Andrew S. Wilton

4

,

and Fiona Kouyoumdjian

4,5,6

Abstract

Racially disaggregated incarceration data are an important indicator of population

health and well-being, but are lacking in the Canadian context. We aimed to describe

incarceration rates and proportions of Black people who experienced incarceration in

Ontario, Canada during 2010 using population-based data. We used correctional

administrative data for all 45,956 men and 6,357 women released from provincial

correctional facilities in Ontario in 2010, including self-reported race data. Using 2006

Ontario Census data on the population size for race and age categories, we calculated

and compared incarceration rates and proportions of the population experiencing

incarceration by age, sex, and race groups using chi-square tests. In this first Canadian

study presenting detail ed incarceration rates b y race, we found substanti al over-

representation of Black men in provincial correctional facilities in Ontario. We also

found that a large proportion of Black men experience incarceration. In addition to

further research, evidence-based action is needed to prevent exposure to

1

Department of Sociology, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

2

Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

3

Department of Criminology, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

4

ICES, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

5

Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

6

MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Corresponding Author:

Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, Department of Sociology, University of Toronto, 725 Spadina Ave., Toronto,

ON, Canada M5S 2J4.

Email: a.o.bempah@utoronto.ca

Race and Justice

ªThe Author(s) 2021

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DOI: 10.1177/21533687211006461

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2023, Vol. 13(4) 530–\ 542