Social Disadvantages with Relation to Indigenous Australians - Article Example

Indigenous Criminal Perspective Name Institution Indigenous Criminal Perspective Introduction In the existing social indicators, indigenous communities are rated as being the most disadvantaged in Australia (Hall and Patrinos, 2012). The indigenous people are far worse than non-indigenous people in varying aspects like education, employment, living standards and family violence. This problem is extreme in that life expectancy is 10 years less compared to their non-aboriginal counterparts. High rates of crime have been recounted among the indigenous Australian for quite a while. There are several factors that increase the risk of indigenous people participation in crime. Most of them are social factors. It is impossible to reduce the contact between indigenous people and the criminal justice without pinpointing the reason why indigenous communities are often imprisoned. Some social factors that increase the number of criminal activities among indigenous people will be analysed in the essay among them including unemployment,family dissolution and disruption among others. This essay will therefore analyse social disadvantages in relation to indigenous Australians and discuss its relevance in assessing the impact of criminal justice practices on Aboriginal peoples. Social Disadvantages with Relation to Indigenous Australians Unemployment Studies have pinpointed a strong correlation between unemployment and rate of crime among the indigenous Australians, moreover among individuals from low social status backgrounds. Indigenous from low socio-economic status commit crimes at an alarming rate when they are unemployed than when they are working. To solve unemployment issues among the indigenous people, the Community Development Employment Projects (CDEP) scheme was established (Snowball and Weatherburn, 2007). The CDEP members are paid unemployment benefits for their part-time jobs entailing developing the indigenous community. According to research studies, CDEP members are less likely to be arrested than individuals who are unemployed (Hall and Patrinos, 2012). Family dissolution and disruption It has been proven that, Australians who have been away from their natural families were very likely to commit crime. This can be attributed to the fact that childhood trauma and disruption causes juvenile arrest (Hall and Patrinos, 2012). In addition, studies indicate that children raised by one parent are at a high risk of crime involvement, especially when the sole-parent is poor or lack close family members or neighbours. Neighbourhood problems According to a research by Weatherburn and Lind, children who are poorly taken care of or supervised by their parents are likely to be involved in crimes when they stay in a neighbourhood prone to criminal activities (Hall and Patrinos, 2012). This is due to the higher influence by felonious individuals in crime-prone neighbourhoods. In general, neighbourhoods with high number of unsupervised peer groups and children have higher rates of criminal activities. Household crowding Acording to research, offsprings from larger families are in a higher likelihood of committing criminal activities than children coming from small families (Hall and Patrinos, 2012). This can be attributed to the limited resources such as food, money and education (Hall and Patrinos, 2012). Crowded households are those that have a large number of people relative to the total number of available bedrooms. Therefore, there is a correlation between crowded households and high rate of criminal records. Drug and alcohol abuse Various research projects support the correlation that exists between substance abuse and high rates of crimes. Alcohol and drug abuse increases the rate of crime (Weatherburn, Snowball and Hunter, 2006). This is because individuals abusing drugs and alcohol need funding for their illicit drug dependence. In addition, alcohol use in most cases results in violence and aggressive in many instances, therefore increasing the rate of engaging in criminal activities. Lack of social support Many indigenous people lack social support and involvement in community affairs. There is evidence that lack of social support increases the probability of involvement in crime (Weatherburn, Snowball and Hunter, 2006). Lack of social support is as well linked to increase in child neglect which in turn leads to increased risks of crimes. Social Stress Access to social support is known to reduce the risks of involvement in crime. Stressful life events of the indigenous Australians have led to the increase in the rates of crime despite controlling factors that influence crime rates (Weatherburn, Snowball and Hunter, 2006). Also, interpersonal conflict and stressful events are strong, independent reasons for adult recidivism. The aforementioned social factors are independent predators when all the legal factors are taken care of. Indigenous social challenges interact with legal overrepresentation (Snowball and Weatherburn, 2007). Exclusive evidence has been presented on the effects of social problems with risk of imprisonment. Therefore, it is important to shift the attention from criminal justice practices and back to the social problems such as social stress, household overcrowding, and unemployment to name just a few. Impacts of Criminal Justice on Aboriginal Community The understanding of the existing relationship between indigenous Australians and the criminal justice practices can assist in explaining the way in which responses to events such as drug abuse can be understood. Unless changes take place in the relationship between indigenous people and the criminal justice practices, similar responses can be expected. For instance, indigenous overrepresentation in the justice system is marked as a crisis in the Australian justice system (Neubauer and Fradella, 2011). Aboriginal young people tend to be overrepresented in Australian compared to aboriginal adults. Although the recent amendments have led to the decrease in the population of people in prison, the drop in the number of indigenous admissions is lower compared to that of non-indigenous people. This is seen in both the adults and young people justice sphere. This therefore means that overrepresentation of the indigenous people will continue to be a problem in the later years (Neubauer and Fradella, 2011). For this problem to be tackled, it is essential to first understand the major factors influencing this problem. While overrepresentation is considered the most disturbing problem facing aboriginal Australian individuals with regard to criminal justice practice, over- and under-policing are equally serious (Neubauer and Fradella, 2011). Over-policing is the situation where the police target people of specific racial, religion or ethnic group or individuals living in a particular neighbourhood. Over-policing has been witnessed over the years with regards to the indigenous people (Eades, 2008). The government uses the police to resolve issues related to Aboriginal rights by making arrests of individuals trying to exercise these rights even before the validity of the claims is established. Also, the government has used the police to further their objectives based on the integration of indigenous individuals by apprehending children to attend residential school. Over-policing has led to distrust of police by the indigenous people. In addition, over-policing has caused the police to grow attitudes that perceive the Aboriginal community as violent and prone to criminal activities (Neubauer and Fradella, 2011). Aboriginal community is also under-policed (Blagg, 2008). In addition to being over-represented in the criminal justice practice, they are also viewed as victims. This has led the police to view them as less worthy victims and when they ask for assistance, they are ignored and downplayed. In addition, this has caused the government to constantly ignore their right claims and grievances. The same way over-policing has led to indigenous community not to trust the police; under-policing has done the same way. It will be very hard to change the situation of overrepresentation of the indigenous people if the focus is only on how judges pass their sentence. Efforts need to be directed towards the social disadvantage in aboriginal community such as drug abuse, crowded household, etc., and preventing these people from coming into contact with the police and the courts. Identification of a social disadvantage through the criminal justice system will bring about meaningful community responses. Addressing the overrepresentation, over- and under-policing can bring solutions to causes of social problems in Aboriginal community (Neubauer and Fradella, 2011). Criminal Justice Solutions The social justice system has a number of practices that prevent new crimes and protect indigenous safety and awareness. One of the practices presented in the Report 2007 is meant to address issues based on family violence and abuse among indigenous people (Neubauer and Fradella, 2011). This practice is focussed on establishing the extent of the problem and find a suitable solution in addressing violence issues. In addition, the social justice system encourages the recognition of the rights of all indigenous people and promotes understanding, unity and respect of these rights in Australia. In 2007, Indigenous Community Legal Education project was established. The purpose of the project was to implement principles needed for the prevention of family violence and abuse among indigenous people. Around 13 Community Legal Education employees were trained for their role of educating indigenous communities about the existing Australian law and human rights (Calma, 2008). The people who participated in the program were employed to educate other indigenous individuals. In order to reduce overrepresentation of indigenous people in the criminal justice system, many Australian states judicial officers are utilising cultural sensitive judicial practices which are open to the views of the elders of indigenous community (Neubauer and Fradella, 2011). This has led to the improved relationship between indigenous people and the criminal justice system. The Australian legal law has established indigenous criminal courts that handle indigenous cases. The court has four elders, the suspected criminal and the magistrate. The magistrate takes into consideration the views of the elders before making any decisions. Conclusion In conclusion, Aboriginal communities in Australia are faced with social challenges that increase the rate of involvement in criminal activities. These factors include crowded household, social stress, unemployment, family disruption, alcohol and substance abuse, etc. The legal issues facing indigenous people include overrepresentation in the court and over-and under-policing (Neubauer and Fradella, 2011). All these factors contribute to the rise of criminal activities among indigenous people. Addressing the overrepresentation, over- and under-policing can bring solutions for cause of social problems in Aboriginal community and thereby reduce the rate of involvement in criminal activities among indigenous people. References Blagg, H. (2008). Crime, aboriginality and the decolonisation of justice. Annandale, N.S.W: Hawkins Press. Eades, D. (2008). Courtroom talk and neocolonial control. Berlin New York: Mouton de Gruyter. Hall, G. & Patrinos, H. (2012). Indigenous peoples, poverty, and development. New York: Cambridge University Press. Neubauer, D. & Fradella, H. (2011). America's courts and the criminal justice system. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Snowball, L and Weatherburn, D (2007) ' Does racial bias in sentencing contribute to Indigenous Over-representation in Prison?', ANZ Journal of Criminology, 40(3), 272-290 Tom Calma, 2008, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission 'Social Justice Report 2008',Chapter 5 http://www.humanrights.gov.au/social_justice/sj_report/sjreport08/chap5.htm Weatherburn, D, Snowball, L and Hunter, B (2006). ‘The economic and social factors underpinning Indigenous contact with the justice system: results from the 2002 NATSISS survey’, Contemporary issues in Crime and Justice No 104, October 2006, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=350466963608649;res=I ELHSS Read More