NCJ Number
95999
Date Published
1984
Length
11 pages
Annotation
Aboriginese inmates and citizens are interviewed to analyze how Western Australia's criminal justice system treats Aborigines, and an effort to improve the criminal processing of Aborigines is critiqued.
Abstract
Beginning in January 1971, a program was inaugurated to educate Aborigines about the requirements of white law. Substantive law and procedures were explained to Aboriginese defendants. An effort was made to draw analogies between white law and the Aborigines' traditions of social control. This educational program ended in 1974. During the period of the project, fewer Aborigines were incarcerated, and Aborigines' attitude toward the law improved. The program indicates that an increased exchange of ideas between white representatives of the legal structure and Aborigines can produce compromises that will reduce conflicts between Aborigines and the criminal justice system. The ideal system would reflect both the white and Aboriginal cultural values in law and legal procedures. For other conference papers, see NCJ 95994-99.