Aborigines are being jailed at 26 times the rate of whites in Australia despite an overall reduction in the number of people taken into custody, according to survey results published yesterday.
The Australian Institute of Criminology’s survey showed also that female Aboriginal custodies were 44 per cent of total female custodies, though they comprise only 1.5 per cent of the total female population.
It is the second survey of prisoners. The first was in 1988. It follows a recommendation by the Royal Commission in to Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. The survey covered every incident of custody (Aboriginal and white) in Australia in August, 1992, and was done in co-operation with all federal and state police forces.
Overall custody incidents fell by 10.2 per cent since 1988, despite a population increase of 6.3 per cent and five weekends in the August, 1992, survey, compared with four in 1988. There are generally more custody incidents at weekends.
However, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have not had their share of the reduction. The proportion of Aboriginal custody incidents rose by 0.7 per cent. They were 29 per cent of those taken into custody, but only 1.5 per cent of the population.
“”More effort is needed to reduce the heavy over-representation of Aboriginal people in police custody,” senior criminologist David McDonald, who conducted the survey work, said.
As well as over-representation in the number of incidents, the median time Aborigines were in custody was two hours longer than non-Aborigines.
State-by-state there were very large differences, perhaps indicating that reductions in Aboriginal custody incidents are achievable in the high-end states. South Australia and the Northern Territory had half the rate of Aboriginal custody cases than that of Western Australia.
The level of over-representation of Aborigines was 26 per cent overall, ranging from a high of 52 in Western Australia to a low of 3 per cent in Tasmania.
The over-representation in custody cases did not follow the level of representation of Aborigines in the general community. The Northern Territory, for example, which has by far the highest proportion of Aborigines had below average over-representation in custody cases at 14 per cent.
However, since 1988 the proportion of Aboriginal custodies increased 13.3 per cent in NSW, 5.7 in Western Australia and 4.8 per cent in Northern Territory and fell elsewhere, notably, 18.4 per cent in Queensland.
It appears Queensland has done the most to reduce Aboriginal custody. Without the Queensland figures it would be fair to say Australia has gone significantly backwards. With them, we have marked time _ done nothing despite the promises of the Royal Commission.
There were 25,654 incidents of custody in August, 1992. Queensland had the highest absolutely and per head. Its improvement since 1988 is coming off a high base.
Intoxication detentions were 33.1 per cent of Aboriginal detentions, compared with 4.7 for whites.
The Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Robert Tickner, said, “”It is an appalling situation that Aboriginal people are so grossly over-represented in police custody, but one of the reasons may be that they are still more likely to be detained for relatively minor offences such as drunkenness.”
He called on state Governments to set up alternatives, such as sobering-up facilities.
A more detailed report of the survey will be delivered later in the year.
The director of the institute, Duncan Chappell, said, “”The over-representation of Aborigines is disturbingly high, despite the commitment of all governments to reducing it.”
The study would enable governments and the community to see the effectiveness of efforts to achieve the goals set by the Royal commission.