20 years after the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, young Aboriginal people are 28 times more likely to be detained than non-indigenous juveniles.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Committee recently tabled this report into Indigenous youth and the criminal justice system. They found that Indigenous social and economic disadvantage have contributed to the high levels of Indigenous contact with the criminal justice system. The Committee also found there is intergenerational dysfunction in some Indigenous communities which presents a significant challenge to break the cycle of offending, recidivism and incarceration.

The Committee examined current policy arrangements for overcoming Indigenous disadvantage and found it concerning that the Council of Australian Government’s Closing the Gap Strategy did not include a National Partnership Agreement dedicated to the Safe Communities Building Block, nor did it include specific targets relating to justice. The Committee found this concerning in view of the weight of evidence it received during the inquiry that linked unsafe communities to the development of negative social norms and increasingly high rates of juvenile offending.

The Committee has made 40 recommendations to Government and believes that to effect change in the area of Indigenous disadvantage and disproportionate incarceration rates, the following principles must be applied:

• engage and empower Indigenous communities in the development and implementation of policy and programs

• address the needs of Indigenous families and communities as a whole

• integrate and coordinate initiatives by government agencies, non-government agencies, and local individuals and groups

• focus on early intervention and the wellbeing of Indigenous children rather than punitive responses, and

• engage Indigenous leaders and elders in positions of responsibility and respect.