Resisting carceral colonialism through lived experience in night patrol research

• In Event: Beyond Autoethnography: Lived Experience Criminology

Abstract

Aboriginal night patrols in Alice Springs (Mparntwe) are an important initiative of the Town Camps in the 1980s. They continue to be overseen by Aboriginal-run Tangentyere Council that plays a representative governance role in Town Camps. Providing a counterpoint to coercive policing and criminalisation, Night Patrols serve to protect the Aboriginal community, prevent violence and keep kids safe. They also deescalate conflict, including the mitigation of potential police violence. This lived experience research was conducted by Aboriginal people living in Town Camps and with Town Camp residents. In conjunction with academics who had lived and worked in Alice Springs, the research adopted a critical colonial approach that was embedded in autoethnography. It found that the Night Patrol played an important function, its capacity was limited capacity due to compliance paperwork and responsibilities in-town, including due to government funding arrangements. Greater community control was required to ensure that patrol work remained focused on community priorities rather than government compliance.

Authors

• Thalia Anthony, University of Technology Sydney

• Juanita Sherwood, University of Technology Sydney

• Vanessa Napaltjari Davis, Charles Darwin University