Aboriginal People in Western Australias Prisons - Coursework Example

Aboriginal People in Western Australia’s Prisons Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Date Aboriginal People in Western Australia’s Prisons Introduction In the justice system of Western Australia, WA, there is a significant overrepresentation of the indigenous group of people (Weatherburn, Fitzgerald & Hua, 2003). Although this group of individuals only represents about 3% of the total population in WA, more than approximately 28% of the entire prison population there is represented by them (Weatherburn, Fitzgerald & Hua, 2003). Additionally, their reoffending rates are high as well which has been primarily attributed to elevated levels of substance abuse and alcohol, child abuse, low education levels, high levels of unemployment, as well as the lack of some of the essential services. According to the Australian Bureau Statistics (ABS), about 74% of prisoners who are aboriginal had reoffended and resentenced as compared to the less than about 48% of those who were not aboriginal (Finnane & McGuire, 2001). Following these high rates of reoffending by the aboriginal re-offenders, the prison authorities have a role to play to reduce these rates (Willis & Moore, 2008). Therefore, the paper will evaluate some of the interventions and programs that the prison authorities can provide with the aim of assisting in the prevention of reoffending by the Aboriginal people in WA. Programs and Interventions Institutional Programs The institutional programs are often designed so as to prepare the offenders to be integrated into the society and are mostly offered to the re-offenders while they are still in prison. Some of these institutional programs that the prison authorities in WA can provide to the Aboriginal people include mentoring, counseling, as well as job training (Heseltine, Day & Sarre, 2011). These particular institutional programs have proven to effective especially when they are centered on the comprehensive diagnostic as well as the assessment of the offenders. Most of the effective institutional programs typically have their focus on various offenders’ challenges and dynamic risk factors as well as the needs which need to be given attention to help these offenders not to re-offend through full integration into the society (Harris, 2004). The prison authorities can collaborate with some community-based agencies and allow them to regularly visit the Aboriginal people in the prisons to offer them these services. Additionally, the prison authorities can ensure that the conditional release decisions and parole are based on whether these offenders took part in the programs or not to ensure their criminogenic needs, as well as other challenges, are addressed before they get released from the prisons (Daly & Marchetti, 2004). These programs will be efficient and more so if they continue being offered even after their release because they facilitate their reintegration in the society because the lack of proper reintegration is among the primary reasons for reoffending (Daly & Marchetti, 2004). When there is the continuity of this support inside and outside the prison with the great help of the prison authorities, these programs will be useful in that it will enable them to be focused and have a purpose in life which will keep them away and busy from committing other crimes (Loza et al., 2004). Violent Offender Programs In the correctional programming, the prison authorities can strive to address the issue of violent offending. According to various studies, the Aboriginal offenders who often have a history of violence usually have high probabilities of reoffending as compared to those who were incarcerated for committing offenses that were non-violent (Mals et al., 2000). Following the high prominence levels of violence within the aboriginal offending patterns, the possibility of reducing aboriginal violent reoffending tends to highlight the need for the appropriate programming especially in the prisons which will then need following up even after their release (Roberts & Melchers, 2003). Although violence is not always because of anger, proper anger management has been closely associated with the vicious cycle of violence. Therefore, the prison authorities may need to integrate some services and programs which address violence and more so those which embrace the cognitive-behavioral approach (Pedersen et al., 2006). This approach will concentrate in on the skill development and internal anger regulation where the aboriginal offenders may learn the particular strategies which will assist them in enhancing their impulse control as well as enable them to manage their anger through utilizing other violence alternatives (Pedersen et al., 2006). However, so that these violent programs would be even more efficient to avoid reoffending by the Aboriginal people due to violence, the prison authorities may oversee, even with the assistance of external agencies if need be, that the programs are diverse regarding their therapeutic targets (Pedersen et al., 2006). They will also need to be broad-based and would need to be tailored to the particular individuals regarding the needs, risks, and characteristics. If offered this way, then the levels of violence which drives criminal activities will reduce and ultimately reduce the reoffending rates. Cognitive-Skills Programs The programming of the cognitive skills is typically based on the fact that the reoffending behaviors of the Aboriginal people are as a result of poor styles of thinking inadequate coping, and poor problem-solving abilities (Hogg, 2001). This, therefore, often presents a conducive environment for the anti-social behavior by this group of people which then drives them to reoffend. Therefore, the prison authorities may integrate these cognitive skills programs into their prison systems so that they can help the Aboriginal people to create victim awareness, enhance their reasoning, decision-making approaches, and self-control (Hogg, 2001). These programs can be delivered to the Aboriginal offenders at between high to moderate reoffending risks and need to be intensive so that they can achieve objectivity. The training concerning cognitive skills can be incorporated into the prison system where the prison authorities focus on some specific behaviors or types of offenses with the aim of addressing the general offending behaviors (Day, 2003). Relating to the effectiveness of these programs, they will be effective in that they will develop the capacity of the Aboriginal people which will help them to avoid the situations that may encourage them to undertake criminal activities (Day, 2003). These programs, especially when offered in the prison settings, will reduce the reoffending rates more so for the Aboriginal prisoners who are convicted as a result of some sexually-related or violence-related offenses (Blagg, 2002). Indigenous-Specific Programs With the aim of responding to the overrepresentation of the Aboriginal individuals in the criminal justice system, the prison authorities may develop specific programs which are intended to be relevant culturally to this specific group of people (Allan et al., 2003). Various jurisdictions in WA have developed these programs and were operating within them. These particular initiatives, which need to be emphasized by the prison authorities, may target substance abuse, domestic violence, as well as sex offending aspects (Gutierrez et al., 2013). These are some of the most cases that the aboriginal people do on a repeat which results to their continuous reoffending. Additionally, these programs may target both the non-criminogenic and criminogenic areas like loss, grief, and trauma to ensure that they are effective and achieve the intended results which are to avoid reoffending by the aboriginal people (Blagg, 2001). These programs can be effective because they assist the aboriginal people to deal with their inner issues and understand themselves better which would then enable them to be able to make wiser and non-criminal decisions. In the same light, after understanding themselves, they can understand what the society perceives and expect from them which will, in turn, enable them to fit in the society and behave the way the society deems to be right which will make the program efficient(Gutierrez et al., 2013) . Diversionary Programs In the WA judicial systems, various diversionary programs exist where most of them are mainstream. Although these programs are availed both for the aboriginal and non-aboriginal offenders, most of them are aboriginal-specific (Spooner, Hall & Mattick, 2001). Most of these programs are related to mental health and drug related issues which are typically handled by the prison authorities with the assistance of special courts in WA. These programs have proven to be highly beneficial especially to the aboriginal people more so when it comes to curbing their rates of reoffending (Spooner, Hall & Mattick, 2001). Mental Health Diversion There are high levels of representation of Aboriginal individuals with mental illness at various criminal justice system stages. Responding to this, with the great assistance of the prison authorities, some criminal justice systems in WA may establish some special courts for mental health diversion as well as special programs for the same (Hanson & Morton-Bourgon, 2009). In these programs, the defendant may be subjected under some psychiatric support or specific mental health services to help the aboriginal people shun from reoffending. Additionally, the programs may also address the some of the underlying reasons as to why the aboriginal people keep on committing offenses through diverting them towards drug treatment among other programs (Broadhurst & Loh, 2003). Drug Diversion Among the forms of therapeutic jurisprudence in WA, the prison authorities may focus on minimizing addiction levels by the aboriginal reoffenders which are among the primary reasons for their continuous criminal activities (Wilson & Gutierrez, 2014). Some of the drug diversion programs that the prison authorities may focus of subjecting these group of people to include support and therapy services, sanctions, regular drug testing, as well as close supervision. Regarding this, various special drug courts have also been established in WA with the aim of establishing and managing these diversionary drug programs which the prison authorities can take advantage of to help this group of people to avoid reoffending (Krieg, 2006). According to studies of regarding the effectiveness of the diversionary drug programs in other parts of Australia, the Aboriginal offenders who complete the entire program have fewer likelihoods of reoffending after the intervention period (Spooner, Hall & Mattick, 2001). The initiatives of the diversionary programs by the prison authorities will tend to have a broad range of outcomes and objectives. These programs will be useful in that it will tend to reduce the reoffending rates of the aboriginal people, it will help in reintegrating indigenous offenders in the community, and will help in reducing dependency on drugs which are some of the reasons for this group of people to reoffending (Spooner, Hall & Mattick, 2001). Services Aside from the programs only, there are particular services which the prison authorities can offer to the aboriginal individuals with the aim of reducing the rates of reoffending. One of the services is that the prison authorities will need to allow regular visits by the elders to the prison facilities (Strang, 2001). These visits by some of the respected members of the community and elders may provide the aboriginal people with some spiritual and cultural services and other services like advice and support which will help them look at life from a different perspective altogether (Strang, 2001). The prison systems may also stipulate specific roles for the aboriginal liaison officers who may assist the Aboriginal offenders to access some of these services while at the same time give them the advice to oversee that they meet the unique needs of this group of people (Loh & Ferrante, 2001). The prison authorities may also provide some chaplain services in the correctional facility which will, in turn, assist the offenders to practice and maintain the access to the individual faith practices (Jones et al., 2002). This will offer them with some valuable support as well as advice and at the same time link the offenders to their community. The provision of these services will be effective in that it will enhance the rehabilitative outcomes of the Aboriginal people while facilitating their re-integrative process in the society (Smallbone & Rallings, 2013). This will then enable them to be continuously involved in their communities and turn decrease some community separation effects because of imprisonment. Conclusion Although the aboriginal people make up the least percentage of the population in WA, their numbers in the prisons and justice systems are significantly high. They are highly involved in criminal activities and more so, have high reoffending rates. Following this, the prison authorities have a significant role to play in reducing these reoffending rates through the implementation of programs, initiatives, and services with the assistance of other agencies. 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