A pandemic-era push to reduce Ontario's prison population disproportionately benefited white inmates, new research shows, leaving Indigenous, Black and other racialized people more likely to remain behind bars - and deepening existing inequities in the province's correctional system.
The study, published in the Lancet Regional Health - Americas , analysed data from nearly 149,000 adults incarcerated in Ontario's provincial correctional facilities between 2015 and 2022, including the period in 2020 when the province released thousands of inmates to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The findings suggest that while all racial groups saw declines in incarceration during that period, the sharpest drop was among non-Indigenous white individuals. Indigenous, Black and other racialized inmates were less likely to be released, despite facing heightened health risks in custody.
"The outcomes that we saw in terms of decarceration in many ways mirrored the inequalities that existed within our correctional and criminal justice systems," says Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, an associate professor of sociology at University of Toronto Mississauga and co-lead author of the study.
"We already had an overrepresentation of Black and Indigenous people, and those two groups did not benefit to the same extent as white people did from decarceration. It exacerbated those racial disparities."
To assess the impact of pandemic-era decarceration by race and Indigenous identity, the researchers used administrative data collected by the Ontario Ministry of the Solicitor General. Upon admission, individuals self-identified their race and Indigenous status, allowing the team to track incarceration trends across different groups over time.
The analysis focused on four key indicators: the number of admissions, number of releases, the number of people in custody each month and total time spent in custody. Researchers concentrated on the changes after April 1, 2020, when emergency decarceration efforts began.
After these measures were implemented, the study found that the monthly risk of being in custody dropped by 30 per cent for non-Indigenous white people. For Indigenous, Black and other racialized groups, the drop was notably smaller - closer to 24 per cent.
A similar pattern emerged in the amount of time people spent in custody: the decline was steepest for white individuals, while racialized groups saw more modest reductions.
The researchers caution that missing data and opaque decision-making processes limit a full understanding of how release choices were made.
Owusu-Bempah says the findings point to long-standing systemic issues - including mandatory minimum sentences and bail practices - that contribute to the disproportionate incarceration of people who are Black or Indigenous.
The stakes during COVID-19 were especially high. Correctional facilities faced significant outbreaks in the early months of the pandemic, and people in custody were at elevated risk due to overcrowded conditions, limited access to health care and high rates of chronic illness.
The pandemic, Owusu-Bempah says, not only highlighted the cracks in the system, but also raised broader questions about who should be behind bars in the first place.
"We know diversion can work," he says, pointing to programs that offer community-based support for people who've been charged with, or convicted of, certain offences. "We need to expand community-based alternatives and build a justice system that truly serves all communities."
Co-led by Owusu-Bempah and Fiona Kouyoumdjian of McMaster University, the study's authors include U of T researchers Nina Lamberti of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and Beverley Osei of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, as well as contributors from several other Canadian universities, the Native Women's Association of Canada and independent consultants.
