Racism in the police force is a contributing factor in the over-representation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system.
In Australia, the number of prisoners with an Indigenous background has been rising over the past decade (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015). With Indigenous people making up only 2% of the adult population in Australia, it is alarming that Indigenous adults make up over a quarter of the prisoner population (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015). The numbers for Indigenous youths are even more concerning; 6% of the youth population in Australia are Indigenous youths, however, Indigenous youths make up 48% of the prison youth population(Ting, 2015). There is some evidence that this over-representation is due …show more content…
Living on missions has allowed some people to adopt a handout mentality where they would rather be given what they need and not take responsibility in the learning processes with the aim of contributing society (Beresford & Omanji, 1998, p.214). Howard Groom (as cited in Beresford & Omanji, 1998, p.225) suggests that academic problems faced by Indigenous youths are rarely influenced by intelligence and ability but rather, a range of factors including relationships, emotions and racism. Failure to follow through with education leaves Indigenous people disadvantaged when securing employment. This can be further complicated by the fact that half of the Indigenous population is under the age of 15, and almost half of Indigenous youth are currently in prison (Beresford & Omanji, 1998, p.231; Ting, 2015). With high numbers of a young population incarcerated, this has led some to allude to the notion of next generation assimilation (Beresford & Omanji, 1998, p.229).Once someone has been charged with a criminal offence it is often easy to get caught in the cycle of the criminal justice system and increasingly harder to secure employment. The criminal justice system often fails to recognise the cultural disadvantage of Indigenous …show more content…
It was expected that custodial officers in particular cases would be found guilty and penalised, however this expectation was not met (McDonald, 1999, p.288). The RCIADIC did find that there was a lack of duty of care for people in custody but stated the high levels of Aboriginal deaths in custody was due to over-representation in the system and underlying health reasons (McDonald, 1999, p.290). The RCIADIC has been both criticised, by people claiming that it missed the point, and supported by those that claim it created a framework for which Aboriginal people could use to structure activism (McDonald, 1999,
In Australia, the number of prisoners with an Indigenous background has been rising over the past decade (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015). With Indigenous people making up only 2% of the adult population in Australia, it is alarming that Indigenous adults make up over a quarter of the prisoner population (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2015). The numbers for Indigenous youths are even more concerning; 6% of the youth population in Australia are Indigenous youths, however, Indigenous youths make up 48% of the prison youth population(Ting, 2015). There is some evidence that this over-representation is due …show more content…
Living on missions has allowed some people to adopt a handout mentality where they would rather be given what they need and not take responsibility in the learning processes with the aim of contributing society (Beresford & Omanji, 1998, p.214). Howard Groom (as cited in Beresford & Omanji, 1998, p.225) suggests that academic problems faced by Indigenous youths are rarely influenced by intelligence and ability but rather, a range of factors including relationships, emotions and racism. Failure to follow through with education leaves Indigenous people disadvantaged when securing employment. This can be further complicated by the fact that half of the Indigenous population is under the age of 15, and almost half of Indigenous youth are currently in prison (Beresford & Omanji, 1998, p.231; Ting, 2015). With high numbers of a young population incarcerated, this has led some to allude to the notion of next generation assimilation (Beresford & Omanji, 1998, p.229).Once someone has been charged with a criminal offence it is often easy to get caught in the cycle of the criminal justice system and increasingly harder to secure employment. The criminal justice system often fails to recognise the cultural disadvantage of Indigenous …show more content…
It was expected that custodial officers in particular cases would be found guilty and penalised, however this expectation was not met (McDonald, 1999, p.288). The RCIADIC did find that there was a lack of duty of care for people in custody but stated the high levels of Aboriginal deaths in custody was due to over-representation in the system and underlying health reasons (McDonald, 1999, p.290). The RCIADIC has been both criticised, by people claiming that it missed the point, and supported by those that claim it created a framework for which Aboriginal people could use to structure activism (McDonald, 1999,