National Indigenous Intelligence Task Force (NIITF)
What is the NIITF?
The National Indigenous Intelligence Task Force (NIITF)
is building a national understanding of the nature
and extent of violence and child abuse in Indigenous
communities. The NIITF was announced in July
2006 as part of a whole‑of‑government response to
violence and child abuse in remote, rural and urban
Indigenous communities.
The NIITF has been extended by the Australian Crime
Commission (ACC) Board until mid‑2014 as part
of the Australian Government’s Building Stronger
Communities in the Northern Territory initiative, with
a focus on child abuse and violence across remote
Indigenous communities.
The NIITF’s intelligence to date has provided
government with a valuable understanding of the
nature and extent of violence and child abuse in
remote Indigenous communities nationally. The
continuation of the NIITF allows for this knowledge
base to continue to be developed. The NIITF will
provide government and key stakeholders with
the information, knowledge and understanding to
improve the delivery of services in remote Indigenous
communities and to prevent and reduce the impact of
violence and child abuse in these communities.
Objectives
The NIITF’s objectives include:
>> producing intelligence reports on the nature
and extent of child abuse and violence in
selected vulnerable communities, with a
consolidated report in mid-2014.
>> continuing to identify the underlying
enablers and facilitators of violence, abuse
and crime in Indigenous communities,
including serial abuses of power and trust in
remote Indigenous communities.
What does the NIITF do?
Under the current objectives, the NIITF’s primary
focus is to collect and analyse information about
violence and child abuse. The secondary objectives
of the NIITF are to further develop understanding
about the factors that influence and facilitate these
behaviours, including abuse of power, fraud and other
crime in Indigenous communities. This knowledge is
then shared with government and law enforcement
agencies so they can make informed decisions to make
these communities safer.
NATIONAL INDIGENOUS INTELLIGENCE TASK FORCE (NIITF)
Strong secrecy provisions within the ACC Act protect and govern how information obtained using coercive
powers is treated. These secrecy provisions provide protection to people and organisations reporting
issues surrounding violence and child abuse.
How does the NIITF collect
information?
What does the ACC do with this
information?
The NIITF collects information by:
Information obtained by the NIITF is collated and
analysed alongside other ACC information sources.
The analysis of this information is shared with law
enforcement or other government agencies to inform
their actions and/or policies.
>> visiting Indigenous communities
>> working closely with local service providers and law
enforcement agencies
>> working closely with other Commonwealth, state
and territory government agencies
>> using special coercive powers to source
information that cannot be accessed by other
methods.
What information does the task force
collect?
The NIITF is collecting information surrounding issues
in Indigenous communities including:
>> violence
>> child abuse
The type of information that is shared is quite varied
and comes in a range of forms—from short tactical
reports to in-depth strategic analyses. Sometimes the
material is classified and only provided to approved
agencies with a need to know.
Recipients of NIITF information are required to comply
with document handling and storage instructions,
which are intended to prevent the unauthorised
release of information to third parties.
Does the NIITF make arrests?
The NIITF does not make arrests or conduct
prosecutions.
>> any other matters that influence or facilitate
violence and/or child abuse.
Working closely with Indigenous Communities
The NIITF adopts an approach which is respectful of Indigenous people and cultures.
Particular efforts are made to consult with Indigenous people and agencies about the approach of the
task force.
All staff working on the task force undertake cross-cultural training and are sensitive to cultural
dynamics within Indigenous communities that they visit.
Over the life of the NIITF, the task force has developed, and maintains, supportive relationships with a
broad range of community members and service providers across Indigenous communities.
Maintaining relationships of trust with Indigenous communities and people delivering services to
Indigenous communities is fundamental to the success of the task force.
NATIONAL INDIGENOUS INTELLIGENCE TASK FORCE (NIITF)
Evidence of specific cases of violence, child abuse,
illicit drug offences and fraud sometimes comes to the
attention of the NIITF during the course of intelligence
collection. This information is referred to relevant
police and child protection authorities.
What has the task force found?
Since the establishment of the NIITF, it has identified
that challenges to information sharing, non-disclosure
and under-reporting of offences and abuse of power
are significant enablers for child abuse and violence in
Indigenous communities.
These enablers impede the capacity of law
enforcement, government agencies and community
service providers to understand and respond
effectively to the nature and scale of domestic
violence and child abuse. Consequently this inhibits
effective service delivery, acts as a facilitator of further
offences and normalises criminal behaviour within
communities.
Will the task force produce benefits
for Indigenous children?
Building an evidence-based picture of violence and
child abuse in Indigenous communities will help
governments to develop policies and programs
under the Closing the Gap strategy that will make
a difference to Indigenous children within these
communities.
For media inquiries relating to the National Indigenous
Intelligence Task Force, please contact the ACC’s
Media Team on 02 6243 6843, 0409 603 637 or
media@crimecommission.gov.au.
Why is the ACC working in this area?
The ACC has access to unique capabilities that enable
the lawful collection, analysis and dissemination of
information about a range of serious and organised
crime, including violence and child abuse in
Indigenous communities, that is not available to law
enforcement and other government agencies as part
of their existing practices.
The ACC is able to utilise these capabilities to enhance
the national understanding of the nature and extent
of child abuse and violence and assist a wide range
of government agencies and community service
providers to more effectively operate in Indigenous
communities.
To read more ACC crime profiles visit <www.crimecommission.gov.au>.
© Commonwealth of Australia 9/2013.