Aboriginal Deaths In Custody
The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in the period between October 1987 and November 1990 investigated the deaths of ninety nine Aboriginal individuals which occurred in police and prison custody in the prior nine years and five months. The report was the first of it's kind, so broad in its study of the issues relating to the Indigenous community. The report revealed many damning facts including: 1)Aboriginal people were the most disadvantaged group in Australia, 2) recognising the injustices committed by the white settlers upon the Aboriginals, and its consequences to the current Aboriginal condition, and 3) Aboriginal are the highest represented group within our prisons and have the highest death in custody rate. In tandem with these findings, the Commission published a total of 339 recommendations which would, if implemented assist in pulling Aboriginal statistics out of the red. However, more than a decade later, it is important to look at whether there has been change, whether there have been implementations, and if these have made substantial changes in figures and standards.The Royal Commission attributed the most prominent cause of the over-representation in cu
Deaths in custody also follow this pattern, with 147 deaths between the findings of the Commission and September 1999, compared to 99 in the decade prior to the Commission. In addition, there were also many commonly held prejudices which were held against Aboriginals by members of the police force. More and more, as a part of reconciliation, Australians are taking responsibility for the past. In fact, there have been many attempts at, especially by governments at implementation - not all however successful. " Furthermore, in the Northern Territory, a person aged 15 or 16 who has been convicted of a relevant property offence and has had at least one prior conviction for such a crime is subject to 28 days of detention. One such policy which has received wide indignation, both domestically and internationally has been the policy of Mandatory Sentencing which has been imposed in Western Australia and Northern Territory. One of the greatest achievements to have arisen from the Royal Commission report would have to be the process of Reconciliation, the increased awareness and the willingness for all Australians to find a path to appease for the injustices which have occurred in the past. There have been many public organizations which have arisen, including the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, the main body aimed at enforcing the reconciliation process: "The Council has had considerable success in putting the issue of reconciliation on the nation's political and social agenda, and mobilising significant public support for the process. This policy, in context of the Aboriginal population, completely contradicts what was recommended by the Royal Commission, whereby incarceration was policy of last resort, when all alternate avenues had been expended. " The Reconciliation process has brought the Aboriginal issues to the forefront, and more and more Australians are taking an interest in action, often in the right steps. Indigenous offenders more commonly commit the offences targeted for mandatory sentencing than non-Indigenous offenders. Often, the issues which have been addressed by the media are those concerning alcoholism, petrol-sniffing, unemployment and other such issues.
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