Youth detention rates have been declining since 1994, with the indigenous rate down by 25 per cent and the non‐indigenous rate down by 44 per cent. Cindy Blackstock, Muriel Bamblett, Carlina Black - Child Abuse & Neglect. HOW DISADVANTAGE AND INEQUALITY IS CONTRIBUTING TO . Indigenous over-representation in the criminal justice system. This connection underlines the need to address systemic flaws and break down barriers to both systems simultaneously. The largest decrease in over-representation was in detention, where the rate ratio dropped from 28 to 24 over the period. 2 Indigenous ontology, international law and the application of the Convention to the over-representation of Indigenous children in out of home care in Canada and Australia. Coupled with the inadequate funding for Indigenous children’s services (Auditor General of Canada, 2011; First Nations Child and Family Caring Society et al. The 2015 findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission confirmed that the over-representation of Indigenous children in Canadian child welfare systems has reached a crisis level. Nationally, Indigenous people have increased from 20.9 per cent of all prisoners in 2004 to 27.4 per cent in 2014. Disproportionate over-representation of Indigenous students in New South Wales government special schools Linda J. Graham Centre for Research on Social Inclusion & School of Education, Macquarie University , Sydney , Australia Correspondence linda.graham@mq.edu.au INDIGENOUS OVER-REPRESENTATION. Combatting Over-representation of Indigenous Youth in the Queensland Criminal Justice System through ‘Justice Reinvestment’ goals and which are evidenced based. The memo said all of its individual investigations had uncovered a “concerning trend” in over-policing of Indigenous Australians. Big Sky bosses at ABC have responded after being criticised by the Global Indigenous Council and the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana over Indigenous representation Similar to other wealthy countries with colonised indigenous populations, Australia's indigenous children, those of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent, are seriously over‐represented in the child welfare system. Database searches show that the use of concepts of systemic bias or systemic discrimination are far more frequent in the Australian literature in discussions of gender, sexuality, hate crime and the law. The over-representation of Aboriginal people in the criminal justice system is a complex and enduring issue. We discuss how that happens in this chapter. For the past few decades, there has been growing publicity about the over-representation of Indigenous and other minority children in our child welfare systems across Canada. Recently, it has been suggested that increased use of diversionary processes could reduce Indigenous over-representation. The specific dimensions of this problem warrant detailed examination. 11 One example of a JR project currently underway is the Maranguka Justice Reinvestment Project at Bourke in NSW that, inter alia, is looking to address issues with breaches of bail, outstanding warrants and unlicensed Even the United […] While Indigenous people for 5 percent of the Canadian population, they accounted for 27 percent of Canada’s prison population from 2016-2017. Over-Representation of Indigenous People in the Justice System There exists an undeniable connection between the over-representation of Indigenous children and youth in care and the over-representation of Indigenous people in the justice system. Queensland legislation. The issues that give rise to the over-representation of Indigenous and Black children in the child welfare system are complex and multi-faceted. Foreword | Indigenous over-representation in the justice system is a challenge facing Australian society. There has been an even sharper rise in the number of Indigenous … More is necessary. In recent years, the Queensland Police Service (QPS) and Queensland courts have sought to rely on a range of 'diversionary' practices such as youth justice conferencing and cautioning as a response to the alarmingly high rates of over- representation of Indigenous youth in Queensland's criminal justice system. The over-representation of Indigenous Australians in prison is one of the most urgent human rights issues facing the country today, according to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Mick Gooda, as reported by the ABC.. An examination of each of these decisions suggests that the way that decisions are made within the justice system discriminates against Aboriginal people at virtually every point. At the Emergency Meeting on Child and Family Services held in January 2018, the Government of Canada committed to six points of action to address the over-representation of Indigenous children and youth in care in Canada. Constitutionally, while criminal law is a federal responsibility, the administration of justice is a provincial-territorial responsibility. The over-representation of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation children in the child welfare system is a humanitarian crisis. The over-representation of Indigenous people in federal custody has reached a new historic high, according to a statement released Tuesday by the Office of the Correctional Investigator. 15 Jun 2020 Abstract. Finally, I would like to relate another story from Canada. Indigenous over-representation is the most significant social justice and public policy issue for the Australian and New Zealand criminal justice systems. The other 95 recommendations run over a wide range of fixing the social ills that lead women to be imprisoned, working with the provinces and Indigenous communities to reduce the number of children in child welfare, to better access to legal representation, to better delivery of mental health, and to establishing community courts in communities. OVER-REPRESENTATION OF INDIGENOUS WOMEN IN AUSTRALIAN PRISONS: A CONSIDERATION OF THE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS INTRODUCTION Since the conclusion of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) in 1991 there has been a significant rise in the prison population of Indigenous peoples in Australia. It remains high, and the conditions that led to the signing of the first AJA remain as valid today as they were in 2000. Zinger said despite the findings of royal commissions and national inquiries, court interventions and political promises, over the last three decades, “no government of any stripe has managed to reverse the trend of Indigenous over-representation in Canadian jails and prisons.” Justice reinvestment is such a response and it is something that I will continue to support in my term as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner. First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation children make up 7.7% of the population under 15, but represent 52.2% of children in foster care in private homes. Indigenous over-representation in prisons grew under Liberal and Conservative governments before and after the proliferation of mandatory minimum sentences. The over‐representation of young indigenous people intensifies at the most punitive end of the system: youth detention (Cunneen, 1997). The report emphasises that the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in out-of-home care (OOHC) has continued to grow since the release of the first Family Matters report in 2016. In 2015, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were: 6.7 times more likely than non-Indigenous children to be the subject of substantiated reports of abuse or risk of harm, 1 and; 9.5 times more likely than non-Indigenous children to be removed by child protection authorities. The over-representation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system is a large problem in society and reasons as to why this may be occurring need to be examined (Walker & McDonald, 1995; AIC, 2013). Closing the gap on Indigenous over-representation has been identified as a priority and promoted through the National Indigenous Law and Justice Framework and Reducing Offending by Māori Project (SCAG 2009; Yeboah 2000). Indigenous young people were 15 times as likely as non-Indigenous young people to be under supervision on an average day in 2010-11, down from 16 times as likely in 2006-07. The Government of Canada has since made progress on … Indigenous women now account for 42 per cent of women in federal custody. Over-representation of Indigenous youth in the juvenile justice system is a social justice issue which requires a substantial response. Reported in this paper are the findings of a project examining the 1990 offender cohorts’ contact with the Queensland juvenile justice system. For example, low income, which is one of the inter-generational effects of colonialism, slavery and racism in society, is a major driver of child welfare involvement for Indigenous and Black children. Report finds Indigenous over-representation in the country’s jails and prisons, likely caused by poverty rates and racism in policing . Table 1. Over-representation. THE OVER-REPRESENTATION OF ABORIGINAL PEOPLE IN CUSTODY. The over-representation of Indigenous people in Australia's prisons is getting worse. He also referred to an increase in the over-representation of Indigenous children residing in out-of-home care. In some instances, the language used in these resources reflects that of the relevant educational syllabus as opposed to terms commonly used in . Aboriginal over-representation is the end point of a series of decisions made by those with decision-making power in the justice system. In Manitoba, the problem is even more severe, with over 80 percent of youth incarcerations from the same period being First Nations youth. v Attorney General of Canada, 2016), there is little room to develop and deliver culturally based interventions to stem the dramatic over-representation of Indigenous children in care and in other poor socio-economic indicators. 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