SA to examine Aboriginal imprisonment
Leading figures from Aboriginal communities and criminal justice experts will look at ways to reduce Indigenous incarceration rates in South Australia.
File photo: Tony Lewis/InDaily
The eight-person advisory commission, including local, interstate and international representatives, will provide advice to the state government.
The commission will consider the key issues driving reoffending, Aboriginal people’s interactions with the criminal justice system, options to reduce the over-representation of Aboriginal people on remand and culturally appropriate custody options.
Aboriginal Affairs Minister Kyam Maher said while Aboriginal people accounted for 2.4 per cent of the state’s population, they made up almost a quarter of the adult prison population and half of all young people in detention.
“This is unacceptable and clearly needs to change,” he said.
“This commission brings together some of the finest minds the world has to offer to look at a long-standing and, sadly, globally common problem.
“This is something that all states and territories are grappling with.”
Among those on the commission are Larissa Behrendt, a respected author on Indigenous legal issues, sociology and criminology expert Tracey McIntosh, and Aboriginal justice expert Jonathon Rudin.
-AAP
