Indigenous Population Overwhelms Aussie Prisons

NEW SOUTH WALES, Australia — The number of Aborigines in prison has increased 23 percent in the past six years despite a $400 million program to reduce the inmate population.

The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in 1991 claimed that the high rate of Aboriginal incarceration was due to the group’s overrepresentation in prisons and police lock-ups.

Economic and social disadvantages of the indigenous people of Australia include unemployment, poverty, poor school performance and child neglect. The report identified drugs and alcohol as major contributors as well, and one-fifth of the $400 million went toward treatment and prevention. But the Aboriginal rate of imprisonment is now 15 percent higher than non-Aboriginals compared to 13 percent higher in 1991.

The commission attributes the rise in indigenous incarceration to the community’s unwillingness to restrict access to drugs and alcohol. It argues that if communities would limit the supply of alcohol and stem the flow of illegal drugs into Aboriginal neighborhoods, and these restrictions were enforceable by law, then they could eliminate the predictor for Aboriginal arrests and imprisonment.

Approximately 85 percent of assaults by Aborigines are committed against other Aborigines, mostly women and children. Officials believe a reduction in alcohol abuse could lower prison rates as well as protect the victims. Another solution sought is intercommunity networks for parental support and foster care for children of parents who cannot handle their responsibilities.

Employment opportunities for Aborigines can help but employment programs would need funding. It is estimated that 26,000 jobs were needed for Aborigines in 2006.