What does the termination of Security Threat Group (STG) designation signify?

What we did

Using CSC's Offender Management System (OMS), all federal offenders with a prior STG affiliation and a "terminated" status^{Footnote 4}  between 2009 and 2020 in the STG Affiliation screen were identified. In total, 161 offenders were included in the study. A detailed coding manual was created, where case management documentation^{Footnote 5}  in OMS was coded to determine the reasons for the termination status. Demographic, sentence, offence, and criminogenic risk and need information for the sample were examined.

What we found

Offenders with a terminated status were predominantly men (99%) and, on average, were 38 years of age. Overall 37% were Indigenous, 36% were White, 16% were Black, and 11% were from other ethnocultural groups. The majority of offenders in the study were previously affiliated with street or Indigenous gangs (65%), while 17% were previously affiliated with outlaw motorcycle gangs or traditional organized crime and 18% with all other STGs.

Prior to termination, 83% of offenders were identified as active in their STG. Three-quarters (76%) of offenders had committed violent offences, and almost two-thirds (63%) were serving a second or subsequent sentence. Over one-quarter (29%) were serving a sentence of less than four years.

Although 72% of offenders had a medium security classification at the time of their termination, these offenders were assessed as high static risk (83%), high dynamic need (87%), and 57% had a high Criminal Risk Index (CRI) score. Two-thirds were engaged in their correctional plan and 71% had a low reintegration potential.

Reasons for the termination status were recorded for only 44% of offenders in OMS and, therefore, results should be interpreted with caution. Among offenders with this information (n = 71), the three primary reasons provided for a change in STG status to "termination" were a lack of current documentation to maintain or confirm the STG affiliation (i.e., security intelligence staff were unable to confirm continued STG involvement), the disbanding of the STG, or the offender being forced out of the STG. The remaining reasons identified for termination were recorded for very few offenders (i.e., less than five each), but included: physical/geographic separation from the STG, disillusionment with the STG, parental responsibilities, maturation of the offender, pro-social supports, employment, or access to programming.

What it means

Although termination reasons were available for less than half of the study group, these findings indicate that factors internal to the STG ("push" factors) were more commonly identified than external factors ("pull" factors) for STG termination in case management documentation. In order to understand offender motivation for STG disengagement and disaffiliation, future qualitative research would be beneficial. Finally, if CSC wants to routinely track STG disengagement or disaffiliation, additional data categories in OMS would need to be explored.

For more information   

For questions and/or more information, please email the Research Branch. You can also visit the Research Publications section for a full list of reports and one-page summaries.

Prepared by: Shanna Farrell MacDonald, Sarah Cram, and Angela Smeth