NCJ Number
194154
Date Published
October 2001
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This paper reviews the history of Palm Island, an island Aboriginal community in Queensland (Australia) that has been thwarted by the government in its efforts to develop it own program to counter criminal recidivism among those returning to the island from mainland prisons.
Abstract
From the early 1900's Palm Island was used by the Queensland government as a destination for the deportation of Aboriginal people from other areas of Queensland where they engaged in problem behavior. In time it became something of a "Devil's Island," as residents were governed by colonial superintendents under a disciplinary, labor-intensive regime. Up until the 1960's, no wages were paid for the compulsory work that the people were required to perform. In 1974, Amnesty International described Palm Island as a "concentration camp." This setting created social tensions and conflict while destroying the people's capacity to develop their own social controls. Cycles of recidivism in and out of the criminal justice system have characterized a high percentage of the Aboriginal residents of Palm Island. In the 1980's, a group of Island residents devised and promoted the concept of a place on Palm Island where those returning to the Island from prison could spend time in a supportive, communal environment while recovering from the negative influences of incarceration. The community organization incorporated in 1985 and forwarded its submission for funds to the Queensland Corrective Services. The project was not approved. Such a reaction has been typical of government responses to Indigenous community-based efforts to gain some control over the services provided to its residents. The cycle of recidivism for Aboriginal and Islander people can only be broken when the communities to which they return from prison have the resources and the legal standing to manage their own environments and services.