Recent reports by the Australian Medical Association and Change the Record Coalition imply that because Indigenous incarceration rates have increased by 88% in the last 10 years we need more culturally appropriate services and strategies.
But framing high incarceration rates as a product of institutional racism does no one any favours. It pits Indigenous and non-Indigenous people against each other and risks further alienating Indigenous people from ‘mainstream‘ society.
Police and court bias may be a factor in some cases, but overall, Indigenous offenders receive shorter sentences than non-Indigenous offenders for most crimes.
The reason Indigenous people are more likely to be locked up for minor crimes like traffic offences, is because many do not have the education to get a licence or the financial means to pay their fines.
Rather than viewing high Indigenous crime and incarceration rates as an Indigenous-specific problem, we need to see it as a problem of poverty and social dysfunction.
Crime occurs more in low socio-economic areas. These are places where parents do not know – and often don‘t care – where their children are; where a lot of people do not work; and where going to prison is a ‘rite of passage‘ rather than a deterrent.
Proportionally, more Indigenous people live in such neighbourhoods and communities than non-Indigenous people – but this does not mean that Indigenous people are more predisposed to commit crime than other welfare-dependent Australians.
Poor educational attainment and unemployment are strong determinants of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous offending. In fact, unemployment is a greater risk factor for offending than being Indigenous.
The majority of Indigenous people are doing okay. Most are employed and more Indigenous people are completing high school, going to university and establishing their own businesses than ever before.
Instead of stereotyping all Indigenous people as victims in need of culturally appropriate programs and services to keep them out of jail, a targeted approach that addresses the social and economic reasons for offending is needed.
Only when more Indigenous people are given the means to lift themselves out of poverty and into employment will Indigenous crime rates go down.
Home > Commentary > Opinion > Don’t blame racism for high jail rates
Don’t blame racism for high jail rates
But framing high incarceration rates as a product of institutional racism does no one any favours. It pits Indigenous and non-Indigenous people against each other and risks further alienating Indigenous people from ‘mainstream‘ society.
Police and court bias may be a factor in some cases, but overall, Indigenous offenders receive shorter sentences than non-Indigenous offenders for most crimes.
The reason Indigenous people are more likely to be locked up for minor crimes like traffic offences, is because many do not have the education to get a licence or the financial means to pay their fines.
Rather than viewing high Indigenous crime and incarceration rates as an Indigenous-specific problem, we need to see it as a problem of poverty and social dysfunction.
Crime occurs more in low socio-economic areas. These are places where parents do not know – and often don‘t care – where their children are; where a lot of people do not work; and where going to prison is a ‘rite of passage‘ rather than a deterrent.
Proportionally, more Indigenous people live in such neighbourhoods and communities than non-Indigenous people – but this does not mean that Indigenous people are more predisposed to commit crime than other welfare-dependent Australians.
Poor educational attainment and unemployment are strong determinants of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous offending. In fact, unemployment is a greater risk factor for offending than being Indigenous.
The majority of Indigenous people are doing okay. Most are employed and more Indigenous people are completing high school, going to university and establishing their own businesses than ever before.
Instead of stereotyping all Indigenous people as victims in need of culturally appropriate programs and services to keep them out of jail, a targeted approach that addresses the social and economic reasons for offending is needed.
Only when more Indigenous people are given the means to lift themselves out of poverty and into employment will Indigenous crime rates go down.
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