Alison Barrett writes:
The next stage of the Albanese Government’s justice reinvestment program was announced today at the tenth meeting of the Joint Council on Closing the Gap, with 15 communities to receive support for early intervention programs aimed at decreasing crime.
“Because local solutions to local challenges work,” Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney said on Twitter.
A First Nations Justice package will assist the 15 communities – that expressed interest in designing and developing early stage justice reinvestment strategies – with community-led, place-based approaches.
Burney said in a joint statement that justice reinvestment has already proven to be effective in reducing crime and keeping young adults and young people out of custody in places like Bourke, NSW.
Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy said “First Nations-led organisations understand the needs of their communities best and I’m pleased to see they are at the forefront of rolling out this readiness support.
“Justice reinvestment is about community-led and holistic approaches to keep Indigenous people out of the criminal justice system and changing lives for the better.”
Injustice
This announcement comes the same week as the latest Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services reported that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in police custody are at their highest since 2016-17.
The Report, which provides information on the efficiency, effectiveness and equity of government services including police services in Australia, shows that eight Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people died in police custody in 2021-22 compared to four people in the year before.
Highlighting the disproportionate number of Indigenous deaths in police custody, 13 non-Indigenous people died in police custody during 2021-22.
Curtin University’s Associate Professor Hannah McGlade told NITV that “it’s not surprising though, because our governments haven’t been doing the right thing in addressing deaths in custody or Aboriginal incarceration”.
“The disparity shows the need for tailored responses to Indigenous needs within the justice system,” McGlade said.
McGlade spoke more about this in a recent Croakey article when she told us that “people would be shocked if they really knew how Aboriginal people, including women and children, are treated by the justice system”.
Examples of some of the disproportionate injustices on young people are in the spotlight in a Guardian series this week, Written Off.
Legislation on spit hoods
Also this week, the Northern Territory’s Children’s Commissioner has urged the NT Government to legislate against the use of spit hoods and restraint chairs on all children.
In a position paper, the Commissioner wrote that legislative amendments to ban spit hoods and restraint chairs are “in line with national best practice for youth justice, as well as Australia’s international obligations to uphold human rights (most notably those enshrined in the Convention against Torture)”.
The paper outlines many effective and safer alternative measures including investment in moving away from punitive responses to “understanding the triggers and causes” for high stress situations.
The National Ban Spit Hoods Coalition – a group of people with expertise in campaigning around issues of justice – welcomed the Commissioner’s position paper.
“Our justice system is only as good as our laws, and while the use of torture is still legal, the human rights of our children are not protected,” Change the Record’s Acting Executive Officer Maggie Munn said in a joint statement by the Coalition.
Research associate at Jumbunna Institute Latoya Aroha Rule, UTS, added that while an operational ban on spit hoods has been in place in the NT since October 2022, “we know that only a legislated ban can secure accountability to safety for our people from this type of torture”.
Relevant consultations
The Tasmanian National Preventive Mechanism invites submissions for a stakeholder consultation to develop understanding of Australia’s OPCAT obligations. This consultation round closes on 23 June.
The Australian Human Rights Commission is calling for submissions on Youth Justice and Child Wellbeing Reform before Sunday 18 June 2023.
From Twitter
Read article here.
See Croakey’s archive of articles on justice and policing.
