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Issues

The Aboriginal peoples of Australia had a complex system of law long before colonization, whereby they became obliged to take account of a new legal framework in their daily lives. The consequences of this include loss of autonomy, dispossession and resettlement on missions and reserves. The following section provides an introduction to the social issues that Indigenous people may experience.
Source: Hunter, B, Arthur, B. & Morphey, F. (2005). Social Justice. In Macquarie Atlas of Indigenous Australia. Arthur, B. & Morphy, F. (Eds). Macquarie Library Pty Ltd; Macquarie University. pg 156-171.

Imprisonment and victimisation can have serious and long-term implications for offenders and victims. Prisoners experience higher rates of substance use and mental health issues. Victims of violent crime can suffer physically, emotionally and financially. The following section outlines some of the issues that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people may experience.

Victimisation
In 2002, approximately 25% of all Indigenous people reported that during the past 12months they had been a victim of physical or threatened violence. This rate was almost double that reported in 1996. There were no significant differences between Indigenous people living in remote versus non-remote areas or for females versus males.

Rates of reported victimisation were higher among younger people, with young men aged 15-24 years having the highest reported victimisation rate (36%). Unemployed persons (38%) and those who reported that they had first been formally charged before the age of 17 years (44%) also reported high levels of victimisation.
Victims of physical or threatened violence in last 12 months, Indigenous persons aged 15 years or over

4714.0 - National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey, 2002

In 2002, higher rates of victimisation were reported among Indigenous adults who had been arrested and/or incarcerated. For example, those who had been incarcerated at some time in the last five years were almost twice as likely to have been a victim of physical or threatened violence in the previous 12 months as those who had not been incarcerated (43% compared with 22%). The association between incarceration and a high level of victimisation was more pronounced for women than men (graph 2.16).

Useful Reading
This article provides details of Aboriginal victimisation and offending in NSW based on data collected by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. It outlines the type of offences that Aboriginal peoples fall victim to and offend and offers comparison rates to the total population.

Indigenous Australians In Custody
Indigenous peoples may experience a range of issues as a result of their interaction with the criminal justice system. Data from the 2002 NATSISS show that Indigenous people who had been incarcerated had higher rates of unemployment and lower incomes. Over half (58%) of Indigenous persons who were not still at school and had been incarcerated in the last five years had not completed Year 10, compared with 40% of those who had not been incarcerated in the last five years.

Incarceration usually follows frequent and/or serious offending and contact with the criminal justice system. Higher proportions of Indigenous people who had been incarcerated in the last five years, compared with those who had not been incarcerated, were first formally charged in early adolescence and had been arrested more than once in the last five years.

Higher proportions of Indigenous people who had been incarcerated had been removed from their natural families and/or had relatives removed from their natural families. This disruption in social attachment early in life often has serious and long-term consequences for those who have been removed and their families.

Juvenile Crime
The over-representation of Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice system also exists in the juvenile justice system. The table below shows that the rates of incarceration in juvenile detention centres for Indigenous people aged 10-17 years are higher than those for all Australians, in all jurisdictions. The data available for Australia (excluding Tasmania) indicate that between 1998-99 and 2000-01, around 40% of 10-17 year olds in detention centres were Indigenous. This rose during 2001-02 to 44% and during 2002-03 to 48%. It is estimated that less than 4% of the Australian population in that same age group were Indigenous at 30 June 2001.

The data shows that the national detention rate for Indigenous young people has fluctuated over the five-year period. While the overall rate of detention for those aged 10-17 years has generally declined, Indigenous young people are still detained at more than ten times the rate of all young people.
Website:http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/1A1D7E843ED8207CCA25709900136B2E?opendocument

Statistics indicate that for those Indigenous people who have ever been charged by police, if they were first charged before the age of 17 years they were more likely to have been arrested and/or incarcerated in the last five years, than those first charged when they were older. In 2002, over half (54%) of those first charged before the age of 17 years had been arrested by police in the last five years and 29% had been incarcerated in that period. See table below.

Arrest and incarceration rates by age first formally charged, Indigenous persons aged 15 years or over

Family Violence
Family violence and other violent crimes are widespread in many Indigenous communities. In 2002, one in five (21%) Indigenous Australians aged 15 years and over reported that family violence was a common problem in their neighbourhood or community. Data from the 2002 NATSISS show that family violence was more of a community problem in remote areas than in non-remote areas. It was also more frequently reported as a community problem by people living in overcrowded dwellings.

Other neighbourhood or community problems including assault, sexual assault and generally high levels of neighbourhood conflict were also more frequently identified as community problems by Indigenous persons in remote areas or living in overcrowded dwellings.

Indigenous people(a): proportion reporting selected neighbourhood or community problems by remoteness - 2002
4102.0 - Australian Social Trends, 2005
Crime and Justice: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People: Contact with the Law

Child Protection
Statutory child protection services are the responsibilities of the community services departments in each state or territory. Children come into contact with these departments for protective reasons including;
• Abuse, neglect or otherwise harmed
• Parents who cannot provide adequate care or protection.

The community services departments provide assistance to these children through the provision of, or referral to, a wide range of services. Children who may require the protection of the community services departments can be reported by an individual (professional or member of the community), an organisation or by the children themselves.

The rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children entering the child protection system are higher than the rates for other children. In 2003-04 the rate of substantiated notifications for Indigenous children was higher in all states and territories, where data was provided. See table below.

11.2 Children who were the subject of a child protection substantiation(a), by Indigenous status - 2003-04

Useful Reading
This article describes the distrust that Aboriginal people have of the legal system and details the damage and loss to family life and culture that has occurred. It also includes a discussion of Indigenous customary law and the Australian legal system.