Human Services Research Task

Running head: HUMAN SERVICES RESEARCH
HUMAN SERVICES RESEARCH
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HUMAN SERVICES RESEARCH
Introduction
The over-representation of Indigenous communities in custodial in the Anglo Settler
Colonial societies has been greatly recognized. According to reports, in 2016 almost 20 in
every 1000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals have been detained (Cunneen &
Tauri, 2019). However, over-representation has been seen as a persistent and recurrent
problem, in which the Indigenous groups’ incarceration rates have increased to around 41%
from the period of 2006 to 2018. This rate has led to an increase in the gap between
imprisonment rates among Indigenous as well as non-Indigenous communities (Weatherburn,
2014). As Cunneen (2018) claimed, the remedial methods have developed in recent times and
provided practical substitutes to majority of non-Indigenous correctional rules as well as
practices. However the over-representation of Aboriginals in the Anglo Settler Colonial
societies still shows prevalence. Detention, trial and imprisonment have turned out to be a rite
of channel for Indigenous youths instead of a cause of embarrassment or humiliation.
Meanwhile, for elder offenders, the magnetisms of free accommodation as well as food along
with good healthcare, comparative protection from vehemence and consistent social
exchange with relatives and associates have tended to overshadow the negative aspects of
incarceration. This has been perceived as a possible reason to which Indigenous criminals
tend to return to custodial at a rate that is considerably higher as related to non-Indigenous
lawbreakers (Kelly & Tubex, 2015). The thesis statement of the essay is “Over representation
of Indigenous in sentencing and punishing have been increasing systemic bias and widening
the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities in Australia.”
Discussion
The profoundness and extensiveness of the Aboriginal interaction with the illegal
justice system has been so major that it has challenged the beliefs of the system. As per
Pereira and Scott (2016), in Tasmania, the state showed the bottom rate of the Indigenous

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HUMAN SERVICES RESEARCH
imprisonment, which is approximately four times as compared to several other Indigenous
Australians in incarceration per capita as evaluated with the non-Indigenous Australians. In
the view of Cunneen (2018), the impact of neo-liberalism can be seen as a cause in creating a
punitive approach in penalty and its effect on the Aboriginal communities. The advent of
neo-liberalism has overlapped with the re-alignment of considerations in punishment that
shed light on dissuasion, vengeance and liability. The dominance of neoliberal values
weakened Indigenous rights to self-determination by subjugating Indigenous principles as
well as Indigenous regulations grounded on these values. Moreover, cultural difference has
been used to clarify delinquency and the essentiality for specific types of sentence, thus
instigating greater incorporation and systemic bias.
As per reports of Australian Law Reform Commission, Indigenous women comprises
of around 34% of the female inhabitants. However, in 2016, the detention rate of Indigenous
women constituting of around 464.8 per 100,000 populations has not only been higher as
compared to the non-Indigenous female populations and has shown increased rate of
incarceration of non-Indigenous men comprising of 291.1 per 100,000 male inhabitants
(Marchetti & Daly, 2007). Indigenous populates are excessively characterized in Australian
custodial inhabitants constituted simply 2% of the Australian adult inhabitants but
encompassed of over one sector of the nationwide adult prison inhabitants. Meanwhile,
Tickner (2018) has noted that the disaster of Aboriginal as well as Torres Strait Islander
females’ over detention in prisons and police custody has been causing inestimable damage.
Currently, Aboriginal and Torres Islanders female population comprises of over 34% of
women in the custody.
More number of women populations is entering in as well as out of courts and police
custody. Such over representation of incarceration of Indigenous populations have been
considered as a critical crisis which has been showing critical impacts on the Indigenous