The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody - Essay Example

The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) identified the need to addresses the adverse impact that the criminal justice system had upon Indigenous Australians. Examine this. It has been well established that indigenous people are being over-represented in the criminal justice systems in Australia (Carcahch and Grant, 1999). However, this issue had not always gained popularity. Often, tragic incidents, high profile inquiries and media spotlight brings such issues to the forefront. For instance, the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody that was created in October 1987 held such an inquiry. It investigated the death of around 91 indigenous people in the custody, who died over the period of ten years (Johnston, 1991). The investigation found that in the criminal justice system the indigenous people have been over-represented. It was found that due to this over-representation a large group of indigenous people had been reported to be dead in the custody (Johnston, 1991). In a recent case, the death of a 15-year of indigenous boy in the custody bought forth the issue of over-representation of indigenous people yet again. The case was being investigated and found that due to the mandatory sentencing laws followed by the Northern Territory, it resulted in the indigenous people’s over-representation in the criminal justice system. Thus, still some of the jurisdictions are practicing the mandatory sentencing scheme, which results in the increase of indigenous people being over-represented. Further, the mandatory sentencing also ignores a basic recommendation given the Royal Commission, which highlights on the fact that the governments “should legislate to enforce the principle that imprisonment should be utilised only as a sanction of last resort” (Johnston, 1991). The over-representation of indigenous people might not be an issue with most white Australians but the issue has definitely proved to have disturbing impact on the indigenous people and specially those indigenous who live in remote and rural areas. The issue is that of complicated nature and occurs due to various economic, social, historical and political factors. Although, it might not be possible to decrease the amount of over-representation of indigenous people in the short term, through joint efforts by the government agencies, indigenous people, proponents of the criminal justice system and police, such a goal is achievable in the long term. The issue needs to dealt with not only in a reactive manner, i.e. at the time of an indigenous person mistreated by the criminal justice system, but a proactive approach should be followed, wherein the authorities should be able to recognise any potential malpractice well in advance to stop indigenous people being mistreated. This issue however cannot be dealt with without analysing the underlying causes that result to over-representation and indigenous offending. Thus, the factors that result in over representation of indigenous people in the criminal justice system are being investigated. As per the statistics, it has been found that the representation of indigenous people in the criminal justice system is quite high. Broadhurst (1997) states “Aborigines are 9.2 times more likely to be arrested, 6.2 times more likely to be imprisoned by lower courts, 23.7 times more likely to be imprisoned as an adult, and 48 times more likely to be imprisoned as juveniles than non-Aborigines.” Further, it has also been found that although the indigenous people only form less than two per cent of the Australian population, their representation in the prison population is around 19 per cent (Carcach and Grant, 1999). Also, the representations of young indigenous people are on the higher end. It has been seen that from June 1994 to June 1997, indigenous young people in detention has increased by around 20 per cent, which increased to 32 per cent by July 1999 (Collings and Jacobsen, 1999). Further, indigenous women are also being over-represented as compared to indigenous men in the criminal justice system (Paxman, 1993). Research indicates that it cannot be stated for a fact that indigenous people may commit more criminal offences as compared to non-indigenous ones. Further, to state that the over-representation of indigenous people is due to the fact that they commit more criminal offences is found to be baseless. Instead, it has been found that the over-representation of indigenous people is due to the increase in offenses by the indigenous people, lesser referrals to diversionary programs, increase in recidivism and a general approach of police to create discrimination against indigenous people. There are various factors that may result to increase in offenses by indigenous people. It has also been seen that some social issues lead to other social problems and therefore offenses takes place, which creates more offenses in turn. Thus, it creates a vicious circle wherein it becomes difficult to rupture this offending cycle. Some of the basic issues that most indigenous people face are related to absence of jobs, insufficient income and lack of social services. Due to such kinds of issues, the offending rates are often found to be on the higher side (Tonry, 1997). Walker (1994) in his research found that at the time of arrest, two-thirds of the indigenous people were not employed. Further, only one in eight indigenous people had any secondary schooling. Walker concluded that the problems of petty crime and violence are the result of social issues such as income inequalities and unemployment. He predicts that to reduce over representation of indigenous people in the criminal justice system, it is imperative to introduce changes in the economic and social policies as well (Walker, 1994). It has been indicated that criminal offenses have increased in various manners due to unemployment, which might not be unique to the indigenous people. Due to unemployment, boredom might creep in, especially impacting the young people. This results the young indigenous people to look for other activities to occupy themselves, which often result into committing offenses, substance or alcohol abuse. Further, together with boredom, absence of schooling, peer pressure and influences by peers also result in young indigenous people indulging in criminal activities (Carter, 1992). The indigenous people are found to abuse drugs and alcohol, along with inhaling substances such as paint and petrol, which results in violation of laws under the influence of substances. Thus, it could be stated that substance abuse is the result of boredom, which is further the result of unemployment among young indigenous people. As per the Law Reform Commission of Australia, the issues of petrol sniffing and alcohol abuse have been identified as a social problem, which cannot be tackled by the criminal justice system. These issues needs to be resolved by the community itself and cannot be solved by the authorities alone (Hazlehurst, 1997). Substance abuse for instance, has severe impact on the family of the indigenous person and may result in the breaking of the family as well. It has been found that most young indigenous people state that they take up alcohol abuse and offenses due to the influence of their family and parents. Carter (1992) states that fighting and drinking among parents and family leads to children being depressed and indulge in violence such as fighting in the schools or eventually dropping out of the school. It is a vicious circle, wherein young indigenous people refuse to attend school because of alcohol abuse in the family, which was the result of boredom due to the unemployment. It has also been found that certain factors within the criminal justice system interact in such a manner that it results in conditions wherein despite the fact that indigenous people crime rate is similar to that of non-indigenous people, the over-representation of indigenous people would still continue in the criminal justice system. It has been found that there are various reasons for such over-representation. It is being indicated that the manner and the type of offenses being committed by the indigenous people have bought a sharp focus on these crimes, especially by the police. Young indigenous people are especially found to commit offenses related to destruction of property, violence and disturbing public order. Amongst these, public order offenses such as use of abusive language, offensive behaviour, disorderly and drunk behaviour and other such offenses leads to indigenous people being coming in touch with the criminal justice system on a regular basis. The issue is serious and in fact in a seminar by the Australian Institute of Criminology in Cairns in 1992, it was recommended that the government should take steps for decriminalising these offences. It has been found that some of the Australian jurisdictions have implemented such steps, there are other jurisdictions such as Queensland that has still not decriminalised public order. Research also indicates that the indigenous people are found to be the center of attention for the police and public mainly due to the reason that they assemble in public places. As per Crawford-Maher (1992), the young indigenous people draw more attention due to the fact that there is higher rate of unemployment among the indigenous population together with their raw nature of the criminal offenses, which results in higher degree of attention by the police. Further, it has been indicated that the excessive visibility of indigenous people in the criminal justice system is also due to the problem of over-policing. The ratio among police to civilians has seen growth in the country, and especially in the communities wherein the indigenous population lives in. This ratio is found to be quite high in indigenous communities. For instance, in areas such as Wilcannia, the ratio is 1:77 and in Bourke is 1:120, which while compared to non-indigenous areas is quite high. Chatswood, a non-indigenous area, for instance has a ration of 1:926 (Paxman, 1993). Thus, the criminal offenses undertaken by indigenous people are more likely to be seen by the police due to higher police ratios in these areas. Another important factor that results into the indigenous people over-representation in the criminal justice system is the attitudes of the police. It has been found that the officers policing indigenous areas are often biased in their opinions regarding the crimes committed in these areas. Although, this biasness might not be deliberate in nature, it has been found that police officers often do not provide discretionary decisions and divert them from the criminal justice system (Cunneen and Luke, 1995). Tonry (1997) states that some possible reasons behind such biasness may be due to the sub-conscious factors that impact the police officials thinking process. These include the way of speech, dress, dwelling sites and the economic and social backgrounds of these offenders. As the indigenous people are at social disadvantage, they often showcase characteristics which make the police believe that these people are liable to commit criminal offences. As per the Royal Commission, in order to curb this issue, it is important to negotiate with the indigenous organisations and communities, which would help in ensuring that the indigenous people are also a part of the process while designing and implementing policies regarding them (Johnston, 1991). It has been found that due to the customs and lifestyle of the indigenous people, it has caused them several issues as well. Further, due to the imposition of the legal system and culture of the non-indigenous people has also resulted in clash of ideologies. This has further resulted in violence, resentment and frustration among the community. The concept of restorative justice focuses on re-orienting the community towards making shaming as a meaningful practice, which may eventually help in cutting down the cost to control delinquency. Further, restorative justice also helps in implementing self determination and would help in limiting the indigenous autonomy as well. Therefore, the contemporary legal system needs to incorporate such a means of restorative justice that would help in integrating the settlers with the indigenous Australians. Such a system helps in addressing issues and mediating in an effective manner between the national and local level, without negotiating the state’s integrity (Blagg 1997). The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) has identified the need to addresses the adverse impact that the criminal justice system had upon Indigenous Australians and restorative justice can provide a suitable solution to the issue as well. Such a system of justice would ensure that the people who are committing offences are held accountable and even accept responsibility for their actions. People who are impacted by the behaviour of the offender should also be involved in the process to decide about the punishment. This would provide a sense of justice to the victim’s family, while giving a sense of responsibility to the offender. However, it is also important to understand that the offenders should be dealt in a manner that they are provided with the opportunity to grow in a responsible and socially acceptable manner, which would help them in interacting with the society at large (Blagg 1997). Restorative justice should also be implemented alongside behaviour development programs, which would ensure that the offenders are ready to take responsibility for their actions. Factors such as maturity, age, religious and cultural beliefs, personality traits should also be taken care of while implementing such a justice system. Further, the restorative justice should be monitored in a proper manner so that the outcomes can be measured as well. The issue of indigenous people being over represented in the criminal justice system is being receiving attention in the recent past and several plans are being created to address the issue. However, despite correction measures being undertaken, the issue still persists and could only be tackled through proper understanding and coordination between the government agencies, indigenous people, proponents of the criminal justice system and police. Reference Blagg, H. (1997). ‘A Just measure of shame? Aboriginal Youth and Conferencing in Australia’, The British journal of Criminology, vol. 37, pp. 481-501. Broadhurst, R. (1997) ‘Aborigines and Crime in Australia’, in Tonry, M. (1997) Ethnicity, Crime, and Immigration : Comparative and Cross-National Perspectives, University of Chicago Press : Chicago. Carcach, C. and Grant, A. (1999) Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice Paper No 130 – Imprisonment in Australia : Trends in Prison Populations and Imprisonment Rates 1982 – 1988, Australian Institute of Criminology: Canberra. Carter, A. (1992) ‘Juvenile Offending in Aurukun : A Response and Overview’, Australian Institute of Criminology Aboriginal Justice Issues Conference, 23 – 25 June 1992. Collings, N. and Jaconsen, R. (1999) ‘Reconcilliation with Australia’s Young Indigenous People’ UNSW Law Journal, vol 22(2), pp 647 – 654. Crawford-Maher, E. (1992) ‘Developing Community Initiatives in Juvenile Justice’, Australian Institute of Criminology Aboriginal Justice Issues Conference, 23 – 25 June 1992. Cunneen, C. and Luke, G. (1995) ‘Discretionary Decisions in Juvenile Justice and the Criminalisation of Indigenous Young People’ Youth Studies Australia, vol 14(4), pp 38 – 46. Hazlehurst, K. (1997) ‘Empowerment, Prevention, and Privatisation : Issues in Aboriginal Crime Prevention’, Chapter 6 in O’Malley, P. and Sutton, A (eds) (1997) Crime Prevention in Australia : Issues in Policy and Research, The Federation Press Pty Ltd : Sydney. Johnston, E. (Commissioner) (1991) Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody – National Report – Overview and Recommendations. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service. Paxman, M. (1993) ‘Aborigines and the Criminal Justice System : Women and Children First’ Alternative Law Journal, vol 18(4), pp 153 – 157. Tonry, M. (1997) Ethnicity, Crime, and Immigration : Comparative and Cross-National Perspectives, University of Chicago Press : Chicago. Walker, J. (1994) ‘The Over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in Prison’ Criminology Australia, vol 6(1), pp 13 – 15. Read More