Despite sweeping reforms by the Keating government following the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, the rate of Indigenous imprisonment has soared. What has gone wrong? In Arresting Incarceration , Don Weatherburn charts the events that led to Royal Commission. He also argues that past efforts to reduce the number of Aboriginal Australians in prison have failed to adequately address the underlying causes of Indigenous involvement in violent namely, drug and alcohol abuse, child neglect and abuse, poor school performance, and unemployment.
Arresting Incarceration, Don Weatherburn
A very detailed, academic analysis of the issue of Indigenous incarceration, ARRESTING INCARCERATION: PATHWAYS OUT OF INDIGENOUS IMPRISONMENT is sobering, difficult, and confronting reading. And it's hard not to feel like a bit of a fraud in discussing it - not being of the community or of any academic expertise.
So looking at the book as an interested and sympathetic observer, the level of statistics quoted, the breadth of the issue, and the length of time in which it has continued to be a major area of concern is embarrassing. A simple comparison figure to give you an idea of the situation: "2.5 percent of the Australian population identifies as Aboriginal, equating to 26 percent of all adult prisoners".
Aside from the blindingly obvious issue of the costs of jail and justice systems, that figure surely indicates a horrifying number of lives lost and potential destroyed. Surely it has to give rise to concern about what makes so many of this one group so vulnerable to ending up in jail.
Whilst Weatherburn looks at many of the "major" points of cause, levels of re-offending etc, he also does not shy away from the fundamentals since the 1991 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. That the Keating government accepted all but one of the recommendations, and allocated a significant amount of money to implement them. At the same time, State and Territory Governments also made inroads on reform programs. Yet the rate of Aboriginal incarceration has continued to rise. Of course, as Weatherburn observes, this has to be seen as a failure by any measure.
Weatherburn also looks at the possibility of racism in the justice system, he analysis the results from local Koori court systems, and he looks closely at the use of "disadvantage" to explain all. He draws some interesting observations from the data in all these examples to consider the spread of the problem throughout communities, and the nature of offending. He also does not shy away from casting a light on some difficult situations - such as drug and alcohol abuse, inter-generational parenting failures, unemployment and educational performance. He also does not draw away from some conclusions, and whilst spending / attention is most definitely required, he's careful to suggest that this needs considerably more consideration, care and thought.
I'm acutely aware that this is yet another viewpoint from the academic, external observer position, but I'd also note that the numbers, the statistics, the scope of the issue is outlined here in a way that seems helpful to provide understanding and scope. For the information it imparts, and for the context provided on Indigenous incarceration it is compelling reading, although I will admit I've personally had to read it with significant down time to consider the evidence and work my way through the statistics to a terminology that makes sense in my own head.