Indigenous Incarceration in Australia: Analyzing Issues and Solutions

This report examines the critical issue of Indigenous incarceration in Australia, highlighting the significantly high rates of imprisonment among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It delves into the various problems faced within the prison system, including high imprisonment rates, deaths in custody, paperless arrests, and the disproportionate incarceration of Indigenous youth. The report explores the underlying causes of these issues, such as lack of education and employment opportunities, disability, substance abuse, social exclusion, racism, and inadequate housing. It then offers a series of recommendations to address these challenges, advocating for stricter government regulations, improved facilities, and programs aimed at preventing crime and promoting Indigenous development. The report concludes by emphasizing the urgent need for reform to reduce Indigenous incarceration and improve the social status of Indigenous Australians.

Running head: INDIGENOUS INCARCERATION 0
Punishment and Penal Policy

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Indigenous Community..............................................................................................................3
Indigenous Incarceration Problems............................................................................................3
High Imprisonment Rates......................................................................................................3
Death in Prison.......................................................................................................................4
Paperless Arrest......................................................................................................................4
Youth Imprisonment..............................................................................................................4
Reason for Indigenous Incarceration.........................................................................................5
Education................................................................................................................................5
Employment...........................................................................................................................5
Disability................................................................................................................................5
Substance Abuse....................................................................................................................5
Social Exclusion and Racism.................................................................................................6
Housing..................................................................................................................................6
Recommendations......................................................................................................................6
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
References..................................................................................................................................8

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Introduction
In Australia, the indigenous community is facing serious issues based on discrimination and
prejudice from the society. The incarceration rates of Aboriginal people are significantly high
in Australia. Most of the indigenous jails face problems in prisons such as murder, sexual
harassment, discrimination, and mental health issues. The number of young aboriginal
juvenile prisoners is also considerably high as compared to non-indigenous people. The total
population of indigenous people in Australia makes about 3 percent of the national
population, but in case of prisoners’ population, they make about 27 percent, as of 2016. The
rates of indigenous inmates are increasing every year which constitutes a significant problem
for the aboriginal community. This report will focus on analysing the present difficulties of
aboriginal incarcerations in Australia. Further, the report will evaluate the reason for the
problems of indigenous incarceration and provide recommendations to avoid such issues.

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Indigenous Community
The indigenous people of Australia are aboriginal and islanders which existed in Australia
before British colonisation. As of 2016, there are around 649,171 Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islanders people in Australia, which makes about 2.8 present of the total national
population. The indigenous community faces various social problems in Australia such as
low average life expectancy rate, physical violence with women, huge unemployment rates,
disability, and discrimination on multiple levels.
Indigenous Incarceration Problems
The national imprisonment rate is a critical problem for aboriginal peoples; the rate of native
prisoners is considerably higher than non-indigenous peoples. The rate of women and young
native prisoners is also higher than non-indigenous peoples. Other than high prisoner’s rates,
the aboriginal people face discrimination and prejudice in the jails as well. Following are few
issues meet by indigenous people regarding incarceration.
High Imprisonment Rates
The national rate of indigenous people is considerably high; they have already crossed the
prison rate of black people in the United States of America. As per the research conducted by
Chua and Foley (2014, p.138) over indigenous incarceration, the incarcerations rates are a
significant problem for the aboriginal community. The study of Australian Institute of Health
and Welfare provided that the level of indigenous over-representation between youths have
augmented 26 to 31 times in between 2009 and 2013 (Weatherburn 2014, p.1). Following is
the rate of incarceration in Australian prisons as of 2016:
 The indigenous community contributes to about 2.8 percent in the Australian
population yet around 27.3 percent of prisoners in Australian jails are aboriginals.
 The rate of women indigenous prisoners is around 34.3 percent.
 Around 48 percent of juveniles prisoners are aboriginal peoples
 The rate of imprisonment for indigenous women has raised more than 58.6 percent in
between 2000 and 2010. The rate of incarceration for non-indigenous women has
increased by 22.4 percent.
 The rate of incarceration for aboriginal men has increased by 35.2 percent in between
2000 and 2010. The non-aboriginal men incarceration rate has risen by 3.6 percent.

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 There are around 14.8 factors through which increases the incarceration rate of
Aboriginal people throughout Australia. The indigenous people are more likely to be
incarcerated by the police than compared to non-indigenous peoples.
 Every year the incarceration rate of aboriginal people increased, since 2004, the
number of indigenous prisoners has risen by 88 percent. The percentage of non-
indigenous prisoners has increased by 28 percent.
Death in Prison
As per Hunter (2007, pp.88-93), one in every five aboriginal person has lost a parent due to
death in incarceration; the rate of death for native people in prisons is higher than non-
indigenous peoples. The high number of aboriginal prisoners has doubled their risk of death
in prisons. The Australian government appointed a Royal Commission to analyse the deaths
of indigenous people in prisons and factors which contribute to such deaths such as social,
cultural and legal problems. During their four-year course, the commission invested more
than 99 indigenous deaths that occurred during the incarceration. Since the royal commission
appointment, there have been more than 365 deaths of aboriginal peoples either in prison or
police custody. In past 15 years, the indigenous people are more likely to be died in prison
than compared to non-indigenous peoples. The prison death rates for aboriginal peoples have
doubled from 14 percent at the time of royal commission.
Paperless Arrest
In the northern territory of Australia, the high court has provided the provision of paperless
arrests. The section 123 of the Police Administration Act provides that a member of police
has right to arrest any person without any warrant or document and take them into custody if
they have a reason to believe that such person is committing or has committed any offense.
As per Cunneen (2001), the paperless regulation has been misused by many members of the
police to arrest the aboriginal people. In northern territory, more than 85 percent of prisoners
are indigenous, and the rate of death is also considerably higher for them. The Human Right
Law Centre provided a press release on the matter which provided that police arrested more
than 2000 people under these regulations, and more than 80 percent of such people were
aboriginal.
Youth Imprisonment
Around 50 percent of the juvenile prison population in Australia is comprised aboriginal
youths. The rate of indigenous juvenile incarceration has increased rapidly, with an average

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34 young native people in 10,000 are in prison, as compared to non-indigenous it is 1.3 per
10,000. The Torres Strait Islander youth are 26 times more imprisoned as compared to non-
indigenous youth. In case of a northern territory, 97 percent of juvenile prisoners are
aboriginal, and islanders, the average age for indigenous youth to be imprisoned is 15 to 16
(Jacups and Rogerson 2015, pp.117-124).
Reason for Indigenous Incarceration
Following are few key drivers who contribute to the increasing rate of incarceration for
aboriginal peoples in Australia.
Education
The lack of educational facilities and attainment for aboriginal people are directly linked to
various issues such as poor behaviour, offenses, and incarceration. As per Pedersen et al.
(2004, pp.233-249), in Australia, the indigenous people are half as likely to complete their
12th year as non-aboriginal people, the performance of aboriginal people are also below as
compared to non-indigenous people. The native people who have completed their studies are
14 percent less likely to be incarcerated by the police.
Employment
More than half of the first time indigenous offenders are unemployed at the time of arrest; the
aboriginal prisoners are 1.5 times more likely to be unemployed 30 days before their arrest.
According to Sutton (2009), more than 21 percent of indigenous adults were unemployed in
2015 as compared to 6 percent of non-indigenous people unemployment. The employed
aboriginal people are 20 times less likely to be incarcerated by the police.
Disability
As per Krieg (2006, p.534), Aboriginal people are 1.7 times more likely to have a disability
than compared to non-indigenous people; the disability includes mental health issues such as
brain injury and depression. Disable aboriginal people face more police contact than non-
indigenous counterparts. Foetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorder is one of the primary reasons for
indigenous incarceration.
Substance Abuse
The study of PwC (2017) provided that at the time of aboriginal people arrest, they are 1.5 -
3.8 times more likely to be used drug or alcohol. More than 90 percent of indigenous

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prisoners have linked their crimes to substance abuse. More than 68 percent of aboriginal
prisoners have tested positive for the use of drugs and alcohol.
Social Exclusion and Racism
As per Zubrick et al. (2010,pp.75-90), more than 46 percent of aboriginal people experience
some racial prejudice which leads to adverse mental health issues. The material poverty and
lack of necessary social requirements are directly linked to the native people incarceration. In
case of non-metro parts of Australia, the rate of racial discrimination increases substantially;
the racism adversely influences factors such as payroll, court attendance, and sentence.
Housing
More than 25 percent of Australian prisoners were homeless in 2015; aboriginal prisoners are
more likely to be homeless than non-indigenous prisoners. The houses of non-indigenous
people larger and has more facilities than compared to aboriginal’s homes. Inadequate
housing facilities adversely affect the health of native people which is a cause of
incarceration.
Recommendations
Following are few suggestions which can improve the incarceration situation of aboriginal
peoples:
 Strict Government regulations regarding the protection of indigenous rights. The
government should dismiss laws such as paperless arrest or make rules to avoid
misusing of such acts against native peoples (Young and Solonec 2011, p.15).
 Providing better facilities such as educational, housing, employment, and protection
against racism can improve the social status of aboriginal peoples which reduces the
rate of incarceration (Poate 2017).
 Proper guidance should be provided in school to stop young indigenous people from
commenting any crime or substance abuse. Improving the status and lifestyle of youth
can assist in the reduction of native incarceration and promote their development.

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Conclusion
In conclusion, the rate of indigenous incarcerations is significantly high in Australia which
causes several problems, such as a death in prison, the high juvenile rate of arrest and low
development. There are several reasons which contribute to the high rate of aboriginal
incarcerate such as illiteracy, racism, less housing facilities, unemployment, and disability.
To reduce the rate of indigenous incarceration and improve the status of native peoples, it is
necessary that government implement strict regulations for their rights and provide them
better facilities for development.

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References
Chua, S.X.Y. and Foley, T. 2014. Implementing restorative justice to address indigenous
youth recidivism and over-incarceration in the act: Navigating law reform
dynamics. AILR, 18, p.138.
Cunneen, C. 2001. Conflict, politics and crime: Aboriginal communities and the police.
Hunter, E. 2007. Disadvantage and discontent: A review of issues relevant to the mental
health of rural and remote Indigenous Australians. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 15(2),
pp.88-93.
Jacups, S. and Rogerson, B. 2015. Lifetime influences for cannabis cessation in male
incarcerated Indigenous Australians. Journal of psychoactive drugs, 47(2), pp.117-124.
Krieg, A.S. 2006. Aboriginal incarceration: health and social impacts. Medical Journal of
Australia, 184(10), p.534.
Pedersen, A., Beven, J., Walker, I. and Griffiths, B. 2004. Attitudes toward indigenous
Australians: The role of empathy and guilt. Journal of community & applied social
psychology, 14(4), pp.233-249.
Poate, S. 2017. Solution to reduce indigenous prisoners in jails. Northern Star. Accessed
October 15, 2017. https://www.northernstar.com.au/news/solution-to-reduce-indigenous-
prisoners-in-jails/3199773/.
PwC. 2017. Indigenous incarceration: Unlock the facts. [PDF file]. PwC Indigenous
Consulting. Accessed October 15, 2017.
https://www.pwc.com.au/indigenous-consulting/assets/indigenous-incarceration-may17.pdf.
Sutton, P. 2009. The politics of suffering: Indigenous Australia and the end of the liberal
consensus. Melbourne Univ. Publishing.
Weatherburn, D. 2014. The problem of indigenous over-representation in prison. Arresting
incarceration: Pathways out of Indigenous imprisonment, p.1.
Young, W.R. and Solonec, T. 2011. Epidemic incarceration and justice reinvestment it's time
for change. Indigenous Law Bulletin, 7(26), p.15.

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Zubrick, S.R., Dudgeon, P., Gee, G., Glaskin, B., Kelly, K., Paradies, Y., Scrine, C. and
Walker, R. 2010. Social determinants of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and
emotional wellbeing. Working together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health
and wellbeing principles and practice, pp.75-90.