Ensure that municipal and provincial policymaking is shaped and informed by appropriate demographic data.

Indigenous Justice Action Circle: Working towards appropriate demographic data in corrections

The Indigenous Justice Action Circle has been working towards improving the availability of demographic data on Indigenous individuals in the Provincial Corrections Offender Management System (PCOMS). A new system has been piloted as of June 2024; however, training is needed for Classification Officers to be able to appropriately use the data collection system in a way that accurately captures the complexities of Indigenous identities. In addition, the Indigenous Justice Action Circle has identified the need to do a point-in-time (PiT) count within the corrections system.

SIRT-NL: Using race-based data to identify trends in serious incidents

In April 2024, the Serious Incident Response Team of Newfoundland and Labrador (SIRT-NL) announced that it would begin collecting race-based data from affected persons in the agency’s investigations of serious incidents involving police. All data gathered in this way is entirely voluntary. First Light provided advice to SIRT-NL related to the complexities of Indigenous identities to help ensure that the agency is able to capture full and accurate demographic data on Indigenous people. The new process is consistent with elements of Recommendation 4.4 set out in Building Trust, Restoring Confidence.

For the Department of Justice and Public Safety (JPS):

• Mandate foundational training on the histories and cultures of Indigenous Peoples for all Classification Officers in the provincial corrections system.
• Collaborate with First Light to perform an independent point-in-time count of Indigenous inmates in provincial correctional institutions.