New data from Statistics Canada show that an alarming percentage of Canada's prison population are people who have not actually been found guilty of the crime they are accused of, but are rather awaiting trial or a verdict to be brought down.The most recent report from the government agency shows an average of 13,650 Canadians were in prison while on remand from 2014 to 2015—roughly 57 percent of the average 24,014 Canadians that locked up nationally during that period. The remand number broke the 50 percent threshold of total prison population in 2004 - 2005, and has been on the rise since.
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Across the board, all provinces and territories except for PEI saw a growth in their average remand population—some more than others. Nova Scotia jumped 192 percent; Northwest Territories; 139 percent; Manitoba 134 percent; and Albert 109 percent.Nova Scotia also led provinces in the ratio of prisoners in remand compared to those serving a sentence—68 percent, followed by Alberta (67 percent), Manitoba and Ontario (65 percent), Yukon (59 percent), and British Columbia (57 percent). The report note that pre-trial detention for youth is still higher than those serving sentences, but adds that the number has been decreasing over the years, and advises against the potential downsides of remand."The remand population can pose challenges for the provincial and territorial correctional system. Remand tends to require higher levels of security and more intensive supervision; it can be more costly; and planning correctional space can be difficult given that the length of time spent in remand is not predictable," the report reads."Studies have shown that many individuals in pre-trial custody are housed in maximum security facilities where they are held in small cells with two or three other people. They often do not have access to rehabilitative or recreational programs, and face a high degree of uncertainty regarding the length of time they will be incarcerated."The statistics also show that Indigenous individuals had statistically disproportionate rates of being put in remand compared to other demographics. While only 3 percent of the active prison population is Indigenous, they made up 25 percent of the remand population, suggesting that Indigenous people are more likely to be locked up while waiting for a trial/verdict than other demographics. This is up 9 percentage points from 2004 - 2005, when the number of Indigenous people in remand was only 16 percent.Follow Jake Kivanc on Twitter.Lead image via Flickr user Biggunben.