Crime and control in three Nishnawbe-Aski Nation communities: An exploratory investigation.

This paper presents a preliminary description of the way in which problems of order are dealt with in three Northern Ontario Nishnawbe-Aski Nation communities. Data from interviews of community members, police occurrence reports, and court records were examined. People in the three communities differed, sometimes dramatically, in their estimates of how frequently various specific forms of disorder occurred in their communities. Similarly, they varied in their views of whether these problems should be dealt with by the community itself or by the police and courts. Not surprisingly, then, rates of various types of occurrences, as reported by the Ontario Provincial Police, also varied across communities. Official rates of charging residents of the communities varied across communities and across time. In 1988, for example, the number of charges per 100 residents was over five times as high in one of the three communities as it was in another. In 1990, however, the relative charging rates had reversed, with adult charge rates decreasing by almost 80% in one community and increasing by 187% in the other. A substantial portion of those interviewed in two communities indicated that they do not feel comfortable calling the police if there is trouble. Similarly, substantial numbers of those interviewed in two of the communities did not think that the court does what the community would like it to do. Overall. most people interviewed did not believe that most problems of order got settled in a satisfactory manner by the Euro-Canadian system. Clearly, problems of order within these communities are not being dealt with in a stable satisfactory manner. How they should be dealt with, however, is not clear. Given the variability that exists across communities, it seems likely that different solutions must be tailored to fit -- or must be made flexible enough to fit -- the needs and wishes of each unique community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]