NCJ Number
136438
Date Published
1990
Length
166 pages
Annotation
This book presents a study of Australian aboriginal youth and their involvement in the criminal justice system; the study is a result of the desire by aboriginal leaders to find behavioral explanations for the high reported crime rates among their community's youth.
Abstract
Official statistics on juvenile offending in Australia were used. The statistics are used to build a profile of the aboriginal youth offender and to examine relationships with the police and the courts. The results show that aboriginal youth are overrepresented at every level of the juvenile justice system, from apprehension through the pretrial process to the point of adjudication and disposition. The extent of aboriginal disadvantage increases at every stage in the process. Consequently, the high rate of aboriginal detention is the result of a compounding effect of racial and class-based discrimination that is initiated in the early stages of the criminal process. The authors contend that past law and welfare system reforms have worsened the position of aboriginal youth by legalizing the differential treatment experienced by them. The discrimination faced by minority youth in the criminal justice system reflects the social, cultural, and racial bias inherent in Australia today. 16 notes, 109 references, and 20 appendixes