Another statistic

Recently I was waiting at the wharf when a police vehicle pulled up.  Officers alighted and I assumed they were farewelling someone; an officer flying out, perhaps for holidays or perhaps they were leaving having completed their two-year contract.  My eyes then recoiled at the bright red t-shirt amongst the pale blue shirts.  Strange, I thought. Then my brain identified another anomaly; the forward curl of the red-shirted figure’s shoulders.  My heart sank.  I processed all this over a nanosecond.

     The figure was a prisoner, a twenty or so year old, Indigenous male, his hands cuffed at his front which accounted for the slight stoop.  He was being escorted to Horn Island for a one-way ticket to a correctional institution.

     Another young, Indigenous male entering our prisons, either on remand awaiting trial or being imprisoned following a plea or finding of guilt.

     Of course, I know nothing about the matter yet I do know imprisonment is an option of last resort as enshrined in the relevant legislation.

     I also know that Indigenous people are over represented in the criminal justice system and therefore prisons.  So I did a quick search to nail the most recent statistics.  I wish I hadn’t.  The stats were the same or similar to those of 18 years ago.  It was distressing.

     The Australian Institute of Criminology tells us that Indigenous people comprise less than 3% of the Australian population yet are twelve times more likely to be imprisoned than non-Indigenous people.  They make up 40% of those imprisoned for assault offences.

     A young Indigenous person (10-17 years) is 24 times more likely to be in detention than their non-Indigenous counterpart.

 We know Indigenous people come into contact with the law for a range of reasons; economic disadvantage, misuse of alcohol and drugs, violence, family and inter-generational trauma and more.

     Let’s rewind a bit.  On 19 December, 2000 the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Justice Agreement was signed by agencies such as the ATSI Advisory Board, Premier and Cabinet, Corrective Services, Police Service and Families, Youth and Community Care.  The aim of the agreement was to reduce ATSI contact with the criminal justice system, but most importantly, reduce the Indigenous prison population by 50% by 2011.

     It didn’t work.  I knew at the time it wouldn’t work because it didn’t factor in what was needed to reduce offending.  

     I recall doing some research years ago. I found that rates of offending reduce with education.  This wasn’t rocket science. Therefore, to reduce rates of Indigenous people entering the CJS, there needed to be support for at-risk parents to parent, support for parents to send children to school from the early years, effective educational curriculum to engage Indigenous students and holistic support for children at school to prevent disengagement.
     I don't believe this is the case. And it's not my experience (Nothing's Changed).

     Here is a line from the draft assessment of the Justice Agreement (Department Communities). ‘Improving the level of support provided to Indigenous children and parents should be a focus of ongoing efforts to reduce Indigenous offending in Queensland at every possible stage in the criminal justice system.’

     It smacks of rhetoric.

     Tony and I are kinship carers for some children in care.  Our experience has been that the rhetoric is raging and real and effective support just isn’t there.  Therefore, it’s a slippery slope.

     Let's go back to the twenty year old male in the red shirt en route prison.  At the time the Justice Agreement was signed, he would have been about seven years old.  He should have benefitted from the aims of the agreement.  But the system failed him.  He is another statistic.