U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Aboriginal Australia: Current Criminological Themes (From Race, Gender, and Class in Criminology: The Intersection, P 193-217, 1996, Martin D Schwartz and Dragan Milovanovic, eds. -- See NCJ-164529)

NCJ Number
164539
Author(s)
R Sarre
Date Published
1996
Length
25 pages
Annotation
This chapter describes the current social status of Aborigines in Australia, including their treatment in the criminal justice system, and recommends reforms that will improve social status, self-determination, and justice for Aborigines.
Abstract
Two hundred years of colonial paternalism has eroded much of the spiritual and cultural life of Aborigines that preceded European colonization of Australia in the 18th century. The legacy of this history is a current Aboriginal disenchantment with the justice system and massive overrepresentation in that system by Aboriginal people. This overrepresentation of Aborigines in criminal justice processing stems largely from police racism and the absence of social, educational, and political opportunities for Aborigines. Reform efforts that will benefit Aborigines must be based in concepts of self- determination and community-based development. Police practices must change through recruitment of Aborigines as officers and police training in cultural awareness. Further, the criminal justice system should explore the use of "shame and reintegration" as models of sentencing. Efforts should be made to provide community-based sentence options for offenders, with imprisonment being used only as a sanction of last resort. Politically, there should be movement toward greater recognition of Aboriginal customary law, and the government must mount programs that will improve the educational and employment opportunities of Aborigines. 51 references

Sale Source
Garland Publishing, Inc.
Address

Vance Allen, 19 Union Square, West Floor 8, New York, NY 10003-3304, United States

Publication Type
Issue Overview
Language
English
Country
United States of America