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Aboriginal juveniles in custody — New community and institutional approaches

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 February 2016

Elizabeth Sommerlad
Elizabeth Sommerlad*
Affiliation:
Centre for Continuing Education, Australian National University, Canberra
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Extract

The disproportionate number of Aboriginal juveniles in state corrective institutions is a matter of serious concern to Aboriginals, policy-makers and administrators alike. Although it is difficult to obtain accurate statistical information in this area, and hence to fully comprehend the nature and complexity of the problem, what data we do have suggest that juvenile delinquency and ensuing institutionalisation is reaching crisis proportions. It would seem that in comparison with the non-Aboriginal population, Aboriginal juveniles are more likely to be charged with an offence, to be convicted, and to be committed to a corrective institution. Moreover, recidivism rates for Aboriginal juveniles are significantly higher than for non-Aboriginals and substantial numbers do not have homes to go to on release and are transferred to institutions or permanent foster care as wards of the State.

Type
Research Article
Information
Children Australia , Volume 3 , Issue 3-4 , December 1978 , pp. 43 - 49
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1978

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References

1. Borrie, W.D. Population and Australia. First Report of the National Population Inquiry, Canberra: AGPS 1975.Google Scholar
2. Extract from Mr Justice Muirhead's judgement in the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory 1977, in an appeal against a sentence imposed by a Stipendiary Magistrate on a young Aboriginal offender.Google Scholar
3. e.g. Stevens, F.S. (ed) Racism, the Australian Experience, vol 2. Sydney: Australia and New Zealand Book Co. 1972.Google Scholar
4. Sackville, R. Law and poverty in Australia. Commission of Inquiry into Poverty, Canberra: AGPS 1975.Google Scholar
5. For a full report of the Symposium, see Sommerlad, E. Aboriginal juveniles in custody, Canberra: Centre for Continuing Education, Australian National University 1977.Google Scholar
6. Department of Youth and Community Services (New South Wales) Discussion paper on the Care and Treatment of Aboriginal juvenile offenders.Google Scholar
7. Donovan, F., and Bodeker, G., A submission for a Roebourne Community Development and Juvenile Treatment Programme, Perth: Department of Community Welfare 1977.Google Scholar