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Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody: A Fair Deal for Young People?

NCJ Number
160793
Journal
Up2date Volume: 3 Issue: 11 Dated: (November/December 1995) Pages: 8-10
Author(s)
J Glanville
Date Published
1995
Length
3 pages
Annotation
Recommendations of Australia's Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody regarding youths under age 21 are summarized.
Abstract
Between 1980 and 1992, nine Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people died in police custody, seven died in prison custody, and four died in juvenile detention. Many of the youths who died in prison were held for offenses against the person; those in police custody were held for less serious offenses such as public drunkenness. The Commission recommendations 62 and 234-245 focus on changing the delivery of programs and services to reduce the number of young indigenous people entering the criminal justice system. Recommendation 62 states that an urgent need exists for governments and Aboriginal organizations to negotiate together to reduce the rate at which Aboriginal juveniles are involved in the welfare and criminal justice system and to reduce the rate at which they are separated from their families and communities by being declared to be in need of care, detained, imprisoned, or another means. All governments unanimously supported this recommendation. However, the mainstream programs have not met the promise the Commonwealth Government made to develop a comprehensive national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Youth Strategy. The 1994 recommendation of the House of Representatives Standing Committee would be a good place to start addressing the specific disadvantage of young indigenous people, provided that the process includes comprehensive community-based consultations with individual communities and agencies working in the field. Programs are needed to ensure that all young indigenous people have access to relevant, culturally appropriate, and necessary programs and services overseen by a single administrative body. In addition, the Commonwealth government must try to ensure that State and territory governments follow through on their promises. Reference notes