Perceptions of the Canadian criminal justice system among Nigerians: Evidence from a local Church in Winnipeg, Manitoba

Abstract

Diasporic communities are everywhere conceivable in today’s globalizing world. Winnipeg, Manitoba, albeit rather slowly, has not been left out of the increasing diversity of the Canadian population sequel to the surge in flows of “Third World” bodies hitherto considered persona non grata in Canada. Dispensing with the concept “Black,” this paper investigates the assessment of the police and courts by a sample of Nigerians at a local church in Winnipeg. Participants in this study generally have a favourable view of the police and courts in Winnipeg. Consequently, one fundamental finding of the study is that totalizing, generalizing or homogenizing the experience of Blacks and/or Blackness is theoretically misleading. The paper argues that several studies that purport to investigate “Blacks” do not in anyway offer insights into the experiences and voices of newer immigrants or continental Africans.