The imposition of British-based policing laws onto Indigenous society, beginning in 1788 with colonisation, has been a journey fraught with conflict, confusion, mistrust, fear and fatalities.
The newcomers aimed to conquer the new country and its people, and had guns and other powerful weapons to help them in warfare with the Indigenous people.
The country’s original people were shot, whipped, poisoned, arrested, chained, jailed, tortured and executed in the juggle for power.
The battle between Indigenous and non-Indigenous has, in many senses, continued to the present, with the two cultures still at odds about society’s laws and how they should be enforced.
However, Australian society has moved on from the days when the government dominated Indigenous people and made different laws for Indigenous people than for others.
Now, understanding, Reconciliation and support are the prime motivators when considering Indigenous people and the law.
But even up until late in the 20th century Indigenous people were sent to live in isolation from the rest of the population in reserves or mission schools. They had to consult ‘protectors’ for permission to marry, get work, go to school or hospital, or move to another area. Indigenous people were also unable to drink alcohol unless they had citizenship rights and could not stay in towns after 6pm. These laws were imposed through the Aborigines Act 1905 and remained in place until 1963.
In the 21st century, Indigenous people have the same legal rights as all other Australians.
There is also greater awareness of the ongoing difficulties faced by Indigenous people because of the laws and government policies of earlier years, and some services have been created to help combat those difficulties.
A major turning point for Indigenous people was the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC), completed in 1991, which showed that Indigenous people were dying in police or prison custody at much higher rates than the rest of the population. Indigenous people are also incarcerated at much higher rates than others.
Most deaths – there were 99 Australia-wide between 1980 and 1989 – occurred in WA where the Indigenous population is considered "grossly over-represented in the criminal justice system". The arrest
and detention of juveniles was also of concern, particularly in WA where young people were significantly over-represented, and the rate was four times higher than the national rate.
Overall, about 25 per cent of Australia’s detentions were Indigenous people (1990 to 2001) yet in WA, Indigenous people make up only three per cent of the population.
The report looked at the reasons for the high incidence of custodial deaths and the disadvantages experienced by Indigenous people throughout Australia.
The government is still working on implementing the 339 recommendations made by the RCIADIC, which range from
changes in policing to new approaches to drunkenness, such as providing sobering-up shelters and decriminalising intoxication.
The recommendations aimed to address the causes of Indigenous disadvantage and to end discrimination in the justice system, as well as to recognise the critical role of Indigenous self-determination in making the changes.
Indigenous people were found to be
Aboriginal Elders and police meet to discuss common concerns - police work closely with Indigenous people in remote areas, such as the West Kimberley.
dying in custody from pre-existing health problems that were not noted and treated, as the result of injuries
before or during arrest, from alcohol or drug abuse, or from suicide.
The report also noted that self-destructive
behaviours which led Indigenous people
to the police-prison system reflected the
difficulties they had dealing with the
legacies of dispossession and assimilation
policies of the past.
The most significant of these is the former practice of forcibly removing Indigenous children from their families, which continued until the 1960s. The impact of this practice was examined in the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission’s 'Bringing Them Home' Report, released in 1997. It revealed the emotional, spiritual and cultural damage imposed on Indigenous people who are part of what is now known as The Stolen Generation. The RCIADIC report showed that 43 of the 99 deaths it investigated were people who had been separated from their families as children.
Suicide, drug and alcohol problems, violence and self-injury were all found to be consequences for children removed from their families.
Prison and youth detention centres have disproportionately high numbers of Indigenous inmates and the number of Indigenous arrests is similarly disproportionate.
Child abuse and family violence in WA Indigenous communities was studied in the WA Government’s $1 million Gordon Inquiry. WA Premier, Dr Geoff Gallop said the report, tabled in State Parliament in August, 2002, showed the incidence of violence and abuse was “shocking and difficult to comprehend”. The 640-page report made 197 findings and recommendations. The inquiry was set up after the death of Susan Taylor (15) at the Swan Valley Nyungah Community, near Perth.
These reports combined with greater societal awareness of the problems facing Indigenous people have contributed to changing policies and approaches to law enforcement in WA.
Awareness that Indigenous people as a community could have a different social and cultural viewpoint to others in the wider community and required specialised services led the Western Australia Police Service (WAPS) to introduce in 1996 its Aboriginal Affairs Directorate. This was followed by the WAPS’s Statement of Commitment to Reconciliation in May, 2000.
The Directorate aims to provide police services to the Indigenous community in partnership with Indigenous communities and police regions and has specific functions.
It supports the Aboriginal Police Liaison Officer (APLO) Scheme, which was introduced in 1975 with eight police aides (as they were then known) in remote areas and now has 104 Indigenous officers around WA. While part of an APLO's role is to ensure peace and public safety, they have limited police powers. They work to improve and promote police–Indigenous relationships and understanding of policing, provide policing tasks such as foot patrols, run Indigenous driver-training programs, and support police when needed. A project has been established to provide avenues for APLOs to become mainstream police officers.
The WAPS also developed, since 1985, local Aboriginal–Police Relations Liaison Committees, which work as a link with crime prevention and local community policing programs, act as a local reference group for strategic planning and are involved with conflict resolution and issues management.
Community Street Patrols, such as Perth’s Nyoongar Patrol System, have been established in 20 communities around WA to complement policing and to support Indigenous communities. Crime prevention, reducing fear of crime and community safety are key aims of the patrols which are funded by a range of agencies including the Department of Indigenous Affairs and local councils. The patrols, which are run by Indigenous Elders and leaders, help Indigenous people on the street and when necessary refer them to other agencies, such as to medical help, accommodation, a way to get home, or to drug or alcohol rehabilitation services. Street patrols do not have police powers. Their work can help reduce truancy, drug, alcohol and substance abuse, and crime, hence having a significant impact on Indigenous education standards, health and crime rates. A survey has shown that alcohol, anti-social behaviour, family violence and drugs are the main focuses of community patrols.
In 2003, the WA State Government introduced a youth night curfew in Northbridge, in Perth’s inner city. A significant number of youth in Northbridge at night are Indigenous, which has meant the Nyoongar Patrol has had extra pressure to clear the streets of young Indigenous people. Liaison between the police, the patrol and suburban police and Indigenous communities has been increased to ensure the safe return of youth to their homes and to improve youth services in their home suburbs.
In 11 remote WA communities Community Wardens have been appointed under the Aboriginal Community Act 1979. Wardens enforce community by-laws and are supervised by APLOs in several communities, such as Bidyadanga and Beagle Bay.
Indigenous people can seek legal support
Aboriginal Police Liaison Officers (APLOs) get involved with local community life - here an APLO and a police officer enjoy a game of basketball with young people at the Broome Police and Citizens' Youth Club.
from the Aboriginal Legal Service that was set up to meet their specific needs.
The Western Australian Aboriginal Justice
Plan was set up in October 1999 to try to
reduce the over-representation of Indigenous people at all levels of the
justice system.
The WA Department of Justice administers
the Aboriginal Visitors Scheme to support
those in custody and the Aboriginal
Alternative Dispute Resolution Service to
provide mediation services.
A report from The University of WA,
Aboriginal Involvement in the WA Criminal
Justice System: A Statistical Review, 2001, showed that Indigenous people continue to not only rate highly in detention statistics,
but also to be the victim of more crimes than the rest of the population. In 2001, they were five times more likely to be victims of violence, and 71 per cent of those victims are women. Indigenous women were 12 times more likely to be victims of assault than others and Indigenous men three times more likely than non-Indigenous men. Other crime statistics were similarly disparate between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
Such results reinforce the need for work by such bodies as the Council of Aboriginal Reconciliation, formed as a national authority in 1991.
It has eight ‘key issues’ that it believes are an essential part of the Reconciliation process.
Its sixth key issue responds to custody levels, and calls for “a greater community response to addressing the underlying causes”. Effort by the whole Australian community can help achieve Reconciliation and a better life for all Australians.
