Indigenous Australians In The Penal System: Description And Analysis

Punishment and Social Control
Prompt- Describe and analyse at least one explanation for the on-going over representation of Indigenous Australians in the penal system
This essay explores the issues of representation and incarceration in relation to the Indigenous community. The status of Aboriginal people is indicative of a marginalised group, essentially denying them of equal treatment and rights. In a criminological sense, Indigenous people are more likely to be arrested and charged with more serious criminal offences (Blagg, 2012) leading to an extremely high penal population. Drawing on and analysing forms of systemic violence, this piece argues that over representation is caused by the ongoing legacy of colonialism which serves to
The outcomes which arise when they fail to adequately exercise a duty of care are often disastrous. A study prepared for the national study into racist violence found that over 80 per cent of Aboriginal juveniles in detention centres in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia alleged that they had been assaulted by police on at least one occasion (Cunneen, 1991). In addition, there was a strong tendency on the part of those interviewed to see the violence as something normal and to be expected (Cuneen, 2009). Whilst there is no huge disparity today due to legislation, the accumulation of small biases from authorities can result in serious mistreatment. Over representation involves a greater level of offending and social disorganisation on the one hand, and massive over policing and racist law and order politics on the other (Blagg, 2012). The enduring effect of colonisation has had a huge impact on the relationship between the state, citizens and representative institutions such as the police and corrections – in the criminalisation of young men in particular. There is a shared Aboriginal perspective that the main perpetrators of racist violence are the criminal justice system itself, due to: the types of sentences, language barriers, judicial decision and making bail conditions. This argument is supported by significant miscarriages of justice such as the Kevin Condren case. Condren, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, claimed that the police fabricated oral admissions by intimidating him into confessing. With evidence mounting over Condren’s unjust incarceration, an appeal was held presenting evidence to the court that the speech patterns in the police record of the interview were inconsistent with the type of speech patterns used by Aboriginal people in Queensland (Criminal Justice