Managing the Unmanageable:

An Analysis of the Punitive Turn & its Impacts on Marginalised Populations in Canada & the United States

Abstract

This paper considers the consequences and impacts of the Punitive Turn in the context of the experience of Aboriginal offenders in the Canadian criminal justice system. Looking at the presence of a sharp increase in prison populations among Aboriginal prison populations, the politicization of criminal justice matters, and the increased use of actuarial risk/need assessment under the New Penology as indication of the existence of a “Punitive Turn” in the context of the experience of Aboriginal people in the Canadian criminal justice system. Additionally, the expansion of the prison driven by the prison industrial complex and the discovery of the profitability of the prison is regarded as a motivating factor behind the emergence and continuation of changes in punitive practices since the 1970s. Historical injustices, the prison industrial complex and changes in punitive practices have all contributed to the considerable overrepresentation of Aboriginal individuals in Canadian correctional facilities and will be considered to be a part of an overarching strategy of management and control over this marginalised group.