B.C. program offers Indigenous offenders alternative to criminal charges

The B.C. Number one Nations justness Council has opened a young Indigenous diversionary attack Centre in downtown Prince st. George, B.C., which will offer some Indigenous people who commit minor crimes an alternative to being criminally charged.

The organization says it's the first of its kind in Canada.

During a grand opening ceremony on Tuesday, council chair Kory Wilson and Prince George RCMP Supt. Darin Rappel signed an agreement officially launching the program. 

The diversion centre offers Indigenous offenders the option to participate in a 90-day therapeutic plan in which they would commit to a set of activities in order to have their charges dropped.

Rappel said people eligible for the program will be facing charges for non-violent offences like shoplifting, fraud or mischief.

"There's a gross over-representation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system, so we need to do something about it," said Wilson.  

She said the program focuses on the root causes of offending by providing a caring and cultural environment where healing can occur, aiming to intervene early to prevent reoffending and provide participants with an alternative path.

"People often think it's a get out of jail free card, but in fact it's much harder to face a group of your elders, and to face your victim and the people that you've wronged and harmed and to take ownership over that," said Wilson. 

She said dealing with the trauma and other issues that have led to an offender's actions can also be difficult.

According to B.C. Corrections, 36 per cent of individuals in B.C. Provincial custody self-identify as Indigenous, despite Indigenous people making up approximately six per cent of B.C.’s adult population.

Wilson also noted the Prince George Regional Correctional Centre is currently overcapacity, with 63 per cent of inmates identifying as Indigenous.

"So we need to do something that's different and we need to do something that's outside the box," she said. 

According to Lheldi T’enneh elder Marcel Gagnon, the centre's elder-in-residence, the program will give participants a sense of belonging, worthiness, and connection.

New program offers alternative to jail time for Indigenous offenders

"Hopefully when they come and work with us, with the social workers, clinical counsellor, all these talented people we have here to assist them in housing and all those basic needs, I think it's going to be very successful." he said. "Especially reconnecting with ceremony and being on the land."

Rappel said he's also hopeful the program will have an impact on policing in Prince George and break the cycle of reoffending. 

"Prince George, not unlike other communities, has had a more difficult time of late with some issues around repeat offending and the more options that we have on the table, the better," said Rappel. 

He said the program is an opportunity to address socio-economic, mental health and addictions issues that do not get enough consideration in the regular justice system.

"Certainly this is something that needs to be tried, and we're very optimistic that it will produce results," he said.

The diversion centre will also work with Indigenous people who have been released from correctional institutions to support them reintegrating into the community.

Reporter

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