Indigenous Mans Contact with the Criminal Justice System - Essay Example

Running Head: Explaining an Indigenous Man’s Contact with the Criminal Justice System Criminal Justice Your name Course name Instructor’s name Date of submission Q1 a Perry Daniel Noble was a 20 year old of the Aboriginal decent. He lived in the Yarrabah community, an area that had grown out of the Anglican mission that was founded in 1982, in North Queensland which is near the Cairns. The community has a total of 1400 inhabitants who are said to have their origin from the 40 different Aboriginal language groups. The members of this community identify themselves with their family ancestry and early clan genesis. He was unemployed and used to drink heavily to enable him escape from the subordinate aggravation of life. In his community he experienced, high intensities of violence, unemployment and self inflicted injury. The population in his community are at an acerbic edge as a result of the rapidly changing social conditions as the community is in a major phase of alteration. Young men in his society have been denied the opportunity to realization of status resulting them to wane under the burden of their tasks unlike women. This has made most of the men in his community lose hope in their future and vest their frustration in unsocial habits. Most men in his community chose to inflict injury on them selves or commit suicide as defiance in overcoming this harsh reality. In his life, he has experienced a society that has housing shortages and decline in marriage rates and the growth of single parent families which were mostly headed by women. Most of the families in his community were frequented by evasion of parental responsibilities. It is evident that he was from a broken family as he had been staying with his cousin (Wyvill, 1991). Q1 b Perry was arrested by the Aboriginal police on counts of being drunk and creating annoyance at the Yarrabah Aboriginal court. He had had gotten himself drunk on methylated spirit earlier that morning before being detained. Drinking was part of the communities’ way that men used to push away their livelihood sorrows as they had limited chances in progression and being independent. Noble had earlier threatened of killing himself if he ended up in the watch house. He would not have been arrested if he not challenged one of the challenges against him in a deafening and vigorous manner. He was taken into the watch house after challenging the authority and his palpable intoxication. The life in his community depicts his aggressive behaviour which played a key role prior to his arrest. He was locked up with the belief that he would calm down and be ready for the afternoon case after sobering up. Before entry to the cell, he resist being locked up. This resulted in him being charged with resisting apprehension and intimidating the police. The over consumption of alcohol and disorderly behaviour that is often regulated by the Yarrabah community can be evident of the unemployment societal conditions the youth face. This makes them engage in alcohol consumption as a means to escape from the social problems of unemployment and its frustrations. The social degradation also did little in alleviating these problems as most families were either broken or headed by single parents. Prior to this, Nobel had made claims of continual harassment and victimisation by the police (Wyvill, 1991). Q2. Perry Nobel was arrested and charged with being drunk and causing disturbance to the Yarrabah by the Aboriginal Police. Prior to his arrest, he had been drinking earlier that morning in eagerness to the court appearance to answer to charges he had been arrested of. He had also sworn to his cousin that he risked committing suicide if he was taken up to the watch house. He would not have been arrested were it not for him contesting bitterly as he tried to challenge the legality of his arrest. He had had an earlier encounter with the police where he had claimed they had harassed and treated him violently. He was locked up in the watch house after trying in vain to resist and challenging the authority and his intoxication. The police had on earlier occasions victimised him for various offences but had not made an arrest yet. His drunken and disorderly behaviour could be linked to the eroded social controls due to the lack of employment opportunities for the youth in the Yarrabah community who result into abusing alcohol and other drug substances as a way of escaping from the endemic. The effect of alcohol in triggering violence and other related social crimes is evident in Nobel’s case. This is due to peer influence as 90-95% of the crimes in the neighbourhood are related to alcohol. His heavy reliance on alcohol is related to his mode of life as he has yo contend with the wide range of social stress from discrimination, unemployment, poor social amenities an lack of a bright future. This stresses are mainly common in the male youth of the ages 20-40. It is a form of resistance and defying the perceived white authority as drinking together makes them have a feeling of identification with their cultural cohesion and identity. Nobel is preoccupied with the lack of unemployment and is overcome with the reality facing him to change his lifestyle in a community that offers little or no employment opportunities for the youth. This was evidently portrayed in his felony record and violence towards himself and his community members. He lacks guidance from his elders as the family systems in the community are eroded. Many family institutions lack the parental responsibilities as most are broken or headed by single parents. The children are to care for them selves and find their own destiny and identity (Wyvill, 1991). Q3 The over consumption of alcohol and other drugs has been related to the increase in juvenile crime in the Aboriginal communities. Alcohol acts as a mediating essence to felony. It is evident from Nobel’s incident that alcohol facilitated him to committing other crimes that he would have otherwise been able to avoid if only he was sober. Under the influence of alcohol, he was able to resist arrest thus being charged of the offence. Alcohol abuse not only threatens the life of the youth Aboriginals through arrest but also health wise. Many youth, in the Aboriginal community have resulted into drinking as a way to go through the pains of the social problems that they face but this has made them be a target to the police who arrest them most often for being drunk and disorderly. This has mainly been contributed through peer pressure and the erosion of societal values among the youth (Behrendt, L et al, 2009). Cultural practices that often put the Aboriginal persons on the sport include violence and their swearing habits. Public drinking is a precipitate of violence. In as much as most domestic violence goes unreported it is a momentous problem for the Aboriginal people. The violence in the community always involves a larger number of people due to their extended nature of their families. It is a common habit for the Aboriginal youth to attack the elderly persons in order for them to get their checks so that they can go drinking. Women bear the greater pain in this. It is no wonder Nobel finds it easy to fight and resist arrest. This puts him at the greater risk as he is arrested and charged for resisting arrest and for intimidating the police. Much of the violence has been blamed on the lack of knowledge of the cultural practices by the Aboriginal people. The confrontation of severe difficulties by many Aboriginal families has been as an effect of their disruptions and institutionalization that has occurred t their families in history. Many family values have been eroded as they strive to find their identity. The family setting that Nobel finds himself in is full of broken family entities. Many families are headed by single parents and thus children grow up lacking the guidance of either parent who is not around. Most of the Aboriginals grow up in foster homes thus lacking in proper parental guidance. Unemployment and provision of equal opportunities for employment for the youth is an uphill task especially in the Yarrabah community as many youth, especially men, have no or little chance to find their social status. This makes them engage in heavy drinking and violence to forget the sorrows and tribulations of the society. As Nobel consoles himself through drinking, he dives into trouble with the police who accuse him of being drunk and disorderly. He is subsequently not given a chance to defend himself as he is handed a harsh penalty for trying to challenge the charges against him. The destruction of the families has led to the deterioration of societal controls. The aboriginal children become despondent thus prone to committing crime and abusing drugs and other substances. This is a clear indicator that the Aboriginal children are in crisis and an indication as to why many of the Aboriginals die in custody. There has been considerable observation of unfairness in policing on the part of Aboriginals. It has been reported that the Aboriginals who have been arrested with similar charges are more likely to be taken to court compared to their white counterparts. Aboriginal youth recurrently emphasize that the degree of police supervise their conduct and the repeatedly unreceptive interaction which always yields are racism products racism of many law enforcers. Bigoted habits sometimes exhibit in the deeds and actions of an individual but at other times the routine devotion to .biased practices that are the problem root cause. This is more often likely to be practiced as most of the police are drawn from the wider community. The Aboriginals are able to be noticed faster in a largely non Aboriginal state and thus more prone to be arrested by the police than the white community youth. It is absurd that the youth view the hostility of the police to the m as something that has to be expected and tolerated. This is evidently shown as Nobel was always in collision with the police as he was waiting to be charged in court prior to his arrest for drunken and disorderly behaviour (Atkinson, 1996). A closer look into the criminal integrity structure shows evidence in it lacking in neutrality. The implementation of the perfect of neutral justice is essentially convoyed by the principles of persons who execute the 'rule of law'. The Aboriginal youth offenders are often treated with little and even no neutrality. Most cases investigated demonstrate how the infantile justice structures discriminate against the Aboriginal youth offender. The systems are always in a rush to judge and sentence them as seen in the case of Nobel who has always placed claims of harassment and victimization by the police. The law enforcers always see the Aboriginal youth as trouble makers. The severity of the sentencing speaks for itself as Nobel prefers to end his life other than having to experience the life in the watch house. Most of the offenders in the court find themselves charged and severely jailed for petty offences like drunkenness and disorderly offences. Other underlying factors include the negative police attitude and relationship with the Aboriginals. The law enforcers view juvenile and jails as the only best way to reforming the youth aboriginals. The negative treatment by the police to the Aboriginal youth has created within the youth negative reaction towards the law enforcers as the only time they encounter the police is during an arrest. Most of the interaction with the police ended up in charges for resisting arrests and violence. In addition, this has led the youth in not cooperating with the police in community policing. Compared to their male counterparts, the Aboriginal youth more often get questioned for petty things (RCIADIC, 1991). Q4 It is evident that Nobel’s life and his conflict with the law are clear indications of eroded social morals and lack of identification with the cultural values. Many youth in his community are burdened with the quest of identity as the families were torn apart in the historical restructuring and destruction. He has resentment to the police who he accuses of constantly harassing and victimising him. His degree on the self and others continues unabated to the extent that he takes his own life. The police on the other hand, have no trust in him as they do not take anything he says with the seriousness it deserves. When he threatens to commit suicide, they do not take him serious even as they find him hanging on the bed sheet, they take their time in trying to rescue him. It is therefore evident that he has been victimised by the police in many crimes. In addition to this, Nobel is affected by institutionalised racism as the police tend to over police him and victimise him with many criminal activities (Behrendt, L et al, 2009). The police belief he is to be under control as he is generalised with the community. Given their perceived violent domestic nature, the community is over policed and this makes him more visible given his nature as a young youth whop is trying to get his status in the Aboriginal dynamic society. He is a victim of circumstances as his communal way of life has come into conflict with the modern society. The number of police placed in the community is too high as the government perceives the community as unruly and bound to commit felony. The only interaction he gets with the police is during his arrest and victimization period. The courts are not an exception, as they offer serious verdicts for Aboriginals. This is evident as Nobel is given a harsher sentence compared to the felony he committed (Graycar, 2002). Secondly, it is evident that Nobel is a heavy abuser of alcohol. This is because he is arrested for the felony of being drunk and disorderly. Just like his fellow peers, his use f alcohol forms a great bond with committing of felony. Most of his peers and community people have been arrested and charged of petty offences mainly as a result of precipitation from alcohol or the abuse of other related drugs. Trouble in the Aboriginal community is perceived by law enforcers as being precipitated by the abuse of alcohol and other illicit drugs. Many of them, as it is for Nobel’s case, join the habit as a result of peer pressure. Most Aboriginal communities prefer having their drinking escapades in large crowds which are environments that are likely to create felony especially after excessive consumption. It is clear that Nobel losses his sanity after long drinking escapade while waiting to be arraigned in court to answer for crimes he had been charged of before. He is unable to control his temper as he challenges the legality of the charges placed against him. It is evident that the excessive alcohol consumption has an effect on Nobel’s behaviour in as much as he thought the drinking is enabling him to forget about the social tribulations (Graycar, 2002). (Word count 2,490 excluding citations and References) References Commissioner Wyvill, L. (1991) Report of the inquiry into the death of Perry Daniel Noble Richard Rrank (Charlie) Hyde and David Mark Koowootha. Behrendt, L et al, (2009) Indigenous legal relations in Australia. Melbourne, Vic: Oxford University Press. Ch. 6. “ Criminalisation and policing in Indigenous communities”, pp. 113-236. Atkinson, J. (1996) Aboriginal law bulletin, "A nation is not conquered", Vol. 3, no, 8. pp. 4-9. The RCIADIC national report (1991), vol. 2: Retrieved from RCIADIC: www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/IndigLRes/rciadic Graycar, A and Grabosky, P. (2002) The Cambridge handbook of Australian criminology, NewYork: Cambridge University Press. Ch. 12. Broadhuerst, Roderic. “Crime and Indigenous people”, pp256-280. Read More