Indictment: The Criminal Justice System on Trial

#MeToo. Black Lives Matter. Defund the Police. Decriminalize Drugs. Land Back.

These aren't just slogans, protests, and movements. Growing discontent about the criminal justice system is backed up by statistics, reports, public inquiries, and academic research that is shaking its foundations.

Indictment brings the heartrending and captivating stories of victims and offenders to the forefront to help us understand how and why the criminal justice system is facing such an existential crisis. Benjamin Perrin draws on his expertise as a lawyer, former top criminal justice advisor to the prime minister, and law clerk at the Supreme Court of Canada to present an investigation of the criminal justice system.

Indictment critiques the system from a trauma-informed perspective, examining its treatment of victims of crime, Indigenous peoples and Black Canadians, people with substance use and mental health disorders, and people experiencing homelessness, poverty, and unemployment. Perrin shares insights from interviews with a diverse array of professionals, including lawyers, police chiefs, Indigenous leaders, victim support workers, public health experts, gang outreach workers, prisoner and victims' rights advocates, corrections officers, and leading trauma experts. This compassionate, evidence-based inquiry uncovers the myriad challenges embedded in the system itself, making mere reform efforts ineffective.

Bringing forward the voices of marginalized people, along with their stories of survival and resilience, Indictment shows that a better way is possible.