Indigenous Contact with the Criminal Justice System

Session Submission Type: Roundtable Session

Abstract

The injustices of mainstream criminal justice institutions as they pertain to Indigenous peoples are well documented and known. This roundtable re-considers the situation and circumstances of Indigenous contact with the criminal justice system by critically examining an interlinked set of trends and issues: the problematic nature of Indigenous youth engagement in ‘youth gangs’; sentencing matters surrounding Indigenous women in higher courts; reintegration difficulties experienced by Indigenous young people post-detention, and; the potential and pitfalls for justice re-investment strategies in Indigenous communities The roundtable is timely and provocative, especially given gross over-representation of Indigenous peoples in prison and detention and government fixations with budgetary belt-tightening.

Sub Unit

• Area VIII: Roundtables

Participant

• Rob White, University of Tasmania, Australia