Owusu-Bempah Akwasi, Lamberti Nina, Croxford Ruth, Osei Beverley, Butler Amanda, Elwood Martin Ruth, Jurgutis Jessica, McLeod Kate, Paynter Martha, Sapers Howard, Semeniuk Raya, Kouyoumdjian Fiona G
Department of Sociology, University of Toronto, Canada.
The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Canada.
Lancet Reg Health Am. 2025 Apr 3;45:101088. doi: 10.1016/j.lana.2025.101088. eCollection 2025 May.
The COVID-19 pandemic response in many jurisdictions included efforts to depopulate correctional facilities. In the context of the overrepresentation of Indigenous and Black people in Canadian correctional facilities, we aimed to assess COVID-19 impacts on decarceration by race and Indigenous identity in Ontario, Canada.
We accessed correctional administrative data for all people incarcerated in provincial correctional facilities in Ontario, Canada between 2015 and 2022. We categorized people using self-reported data into one of five identity groups: Indigenous, non-Indigenous Black, non-Indigenous non-Black racialized, non-Indigenous white, or missing. We conducted interrupted time series analyses, treating COVID-19 as an event on April 1, 2020, for each of admissions, releases, number of people in custody, and person-time in custody.
Of 148,937 people who experienced incarceration, 85.4% were male and 14.5% were female, the mean age was 35.2 years (SD 12.2), and 11.7% were Indigenous, 12.1% were non-Indigenous Black, 12.1% were non-Indigenous non-Black racialized, and 48.9% were non-Indigenous white. Decarceration in the spring of 2020 benefitted all four race/Indigenous identity groups, with significant decreases in all four decarceration indicators for all groups. There was a significant interaction between COVID-19 decarceration and race/Indigenous identity group for the number of people in custody (p < 0.0001) and person-time in custody (p = 0.042), with decarceration disproportionately benefitting non-Indigenous white people. Compared with the period prior to April 2020, the relative rates of being in custody and of person-time in custody, respectively, were 0.70 (95% CI 0.68-0.73) and 0.73 (95% CI 0.70-0.76) for non-Indigenous white people, lower than those for Indigenous people: 0.76 (95% CI 0.72-0.81) and 0.82 (95% CI 0.76-0.88), non-Indigenous Black people: 0.76 (95% CI 0.74-0.78) and 0.79 (95% CI 0.76-0.81), and non-Indigenous non-Black racialized people: 0.76 (95% CI 0.73-0.79) and 0.79 (95% CI 0.76-0.83).
Decarceration in Ontario in 2020 was inequitable, exacerbating the disproportionate exposure of people who are Indigenous and Black to time in custody and to the adverse health impacts associated with incarceration during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings emphasize the need for targeted strategies to foster equitable health and justice outcomes, including during public health emergencies.
Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University.
许多司法管辖区应对新冠疫情的措施包括努力减少惩教设施内的人员数量。鉴于加拿大惩教设施中土著人和黑人的比例过高，我们旨在评估新冠疫情对加拿大安大略省按种族和土著身份划分的减刑情况的影响。
我们获取了2015年至2022年期间在加拿大安大略省省级惩教设施中被监禁的所有人的惩教管理数据。我们使用自我报告的数据将人们分为五个身份组之一：土著人、非土著黑人、非土著非黑人种族化群体、非土著白人或身份信息缺失。我们进行了中断时间序列分析，将2020年4月1日的新冠疫情视为一个事件，分析对象包括入狱人数、获释人数、羁押人数和羁押时长。
在148,937名有过监禁经历的人中，85.4%为男性，14.5%为女性，平均年龄为35.2岁（标准差12.2），11.7%为土著人，12.1%为非土著黑人，12.1%为非土著非黑人种族化群体，48.9%为非土著白人。2020年春季的减刑使所有四个种族/土著身份组都受益，所有组的四项减刑指标均显著下降。在羁押人数（p < 0.0001）和羁押时长（p = 0.042）方面，新冠疫情导致的减刑与种族/土著身份组之间存在显著交互作用，减刑对非土著白人的益处尤为显著。与2020年4月之前的时期相比，非土著白人的羁押率和羁押时长的相对比率分别为0.70（95%置信区间0.68 - 0.73）和0.73（95%置信区间0.70 - 0.76），低于土著人的比率：0.76（95%置信区间0.72 - 0.81）和0.82（95%置信区间0.76 - 0.88），非土著黑人的比率：0.76（95%置信区间0.74 - 0.78）和0.79（95%置信区间0.76 - 0.81），以及非土著非黑人种族化群体的比率：0.76（95%置信区间0.73 - 0.79）和0.79（95%置信区间0.76 - 0.83）。
2020年安大略省的减刑是不公平的，加剧了土著人和黑人在新冠疫情期间被羁押的时间以及与监禁相关的健康不良影响方面的不成比例暴露。这些发现强调了制定有针对性策略以促进公平的健康和司法结果的必要性，包括在公共卫生紧急情况期间。
麦克马斯特大学家庭医学系。
