The University of Notre Dame Australia
Law & Order Forum
29 May 2010
Guest Speaker: Judge Reynolds
The University of Notre Dame Australia
Law & Order Forum
29 May 2010
I wish to recognise the traditional owners of
this land both past and present
“The children now love luxury; they have
bad manners, contempt for authority; they
show disrespect for elders and love
chatter in place of exercise. Children are
now tyrants, not the servants of their
households. They no longer rise when
elders enter the room. They contradict
their parents, chatter before company,
gobble up dainties at the table, cross their
legs, and tyrannize their teachers.”
The University of Notre Dame Australia
Law & Order Forum
29 May 2010
THAT MIGHT STRIKE A CORD WITH
SOME OF YOU ABOUT “THE YOUTH OF
TODAY”
IT WAS ACTUALLY MADE BY:
SOCRATES
“The children now love luxury; they
have bad manners, contempt for
authority; they show disrespect
for elders and love chatter in
place of exercise. Children are
now tyrants, not the servants of
their households. They no
longer rise when elders enter
the room. They contradict their
parents, chatter before
company, gobble up dainties at
the table, cross their legs, and
tyrannize their teachers.”
And now for one a bit more
recent…
“Of all the animals, the boy is the
most unmanageable”
The University of Notre Dame Australia
Law & Order Forum
THAT WAS MORE RECENT BUT BY
PLATO WHO WAS A DISCIPLE OF
SOCRATES
PLATO
“Of all the animals, the
boy is the most
unmanageable”
The University of Notre Dame Australia
Law & Order Forum
Over 96% of young people both aboriginal
and non-aboriginal have had little or no
formal contact with police in the past five
years.
The University of Notre Dame Australia
Law & Order Forum
Statistics and on the ground observations
support a compelling need for an urgent
change of approach.
Law & Order Forum
• Over the last 20 years or so the total of aboriginal
imprisonment has nearly tripled, and the rate of
aboriginal imprisonment over non-aboriginal
imprisonment is about 27 times.
• Recent statistics show that 1 in every 12.5 aboriginal
adults spent the night in a prison or a police lock-up
within the State.
• The rate of aboriginal imprisonment is very relevant for
aboriginal children because it means that many children
are often at least without a parent, mostly a father. This
creates or adds to lack of family support, both physically
and emotionally. The lack of positive male role models
for young male aboriginal children is a cause for
concern.
Average Daily Numbers of Aboriginal
Children in Detention in April 2010
• Aboriginal children represented about 69%
of the remand population (64 of 93) made
up by about 60 males and 4 females.
• Aboriginal children represented about
73.5% of the sentenced population (72 of
98) made up by about 68 males and 4
females.
Criminal Charges Lodged Against
Aboriginal Children 2005-2009
• Over this period the total number of charges
across the State has increased by 56.8%.
• Some of the categories of offences have
increased as follows:
- Acts intended to cause injury : 42.3 %
- Sexual assault and related offences :
56.8%
- Dangerous or negligent acts endangering
persons : 65.7%
-
Robbery and related offences : 78.7%
-
Unlawful entries and burglaries : 20.5%
-
Theft and related offences : 113.3%
-
Public order offences : 90.5%
-
Traffic and vehicle regulatory offences :
102.6%
Law & Order Forum
• There has been above average increases in the
number of charges over this period in the
Kimberley, the Pilbara, Carnarvon, Albany,
Bunbury, Northam, and in and about the
metropolitan area in Armadale, Joondalup,
Midland, and Rockingham.
• There has been a decrease in the number of
charges lodged in Kalgoorlie and Geraldton by
about 27% (Youth Justice has resourced and
implemented particular youth strategy programs
in these two regions).
The University of Notre Dame Australia
Law & Order Forum
A Report by the Auditor General on Juvenile
Justice in June 2008 included the following
statistics:
• Aboriginal children make up 5% of all young
people but account for 50% of formal police
contacts (this could be more because of
identification issues)
• Over the last 5 years aboriginal children make up
40% of cautions and 45% of Juvenile Justice
Team (JJT) referrals.
The University of Notre Dame Australia
Law & Order Forum
• Indicative costs of dealing with 250 young
people with the most expensive pathways
in the justice system were estimated to be
$100 million over their juvenile years (i.e.
10-17 years old). This cost includes
periods of detention.
• Between 2002-2003 and 2006-2007 about
¾ of all arrests of children were aboriginal
children.
The University of Notre Dame Australia
Law & Order Forum
• A small group of 120 children of all
ethnicities averaged 25 or more formal
police contacts over the last 5 years and
these children were mainly male
indigenous children in the regions
particularly the Goldfields-Esperance, the
Midwest/Gascoyne, and the Pilbara.
Increase in Aboriginal Children Under 10
Years Coming into Contact with the Law
• Population data shows that for the next 5
years from June 2008 the numbers of
aboriginal children less than 10 years of
age will increase.
• If these children are directed to the Court
at the same rate as currently, then another
237 aboriginal children will enter the
juvenile justice system at a cost of $2.8
million per annum.
Law & Order Forum
• In the Kimberley, over the years 20082009, burglary offences have increased by
41% (495-759) and of the 759 offences in
2009, 56 offences involved children less
than 10 years of age (the age of criminal
responsibility) i.e. about 7.4%.
• For all offences recorded in the Kimberley
in 2009, about 7.3% were committed by
aboriginal children under 10 years of age
and were statue barred.
The University of Notre Dame Australia
Law & Order Forum
As a result of police coming into contact
with more aboriginal children of ages less
than 10 years, it may be that when they
reach 10 years of age the police will
regard them as a greater risk to the
community and therefore be less likely to
direct them away from the Court.
The Objectives and Principles of the
Young Offenders Act 1994 (the YOA Act)
• The objectives and principles of the YO
Act require agencies, including the police,
and also the Court to treat children
different to adults.
• Emphasis on prevention and diversion.
The University of Notre Dame Australia
Law & Order Forum
• Rehabilitation and enhancement of the
role of family.
• Need for Youth Justice systems to be
different to adult systems and be more
focused on rehabilitation and welfare
issues than compliance issues.
Causes of Criminal Behaviour
Aboriginal children who commit serious
offences are themselves victims for any
one or more of the following:
• adverse impacts of colonisation
(disempowerment and disconnection)
• parents are usually separated
• parenting skills are relatively poor or non
existent
• they have been exposed to various
neglects and abuses (physical and mental
and sometimes sexual)
• they have been subjected to and/or been
witness to domestic violence
• abuse of substances and violence are the
norm
• they have been subjected to death and
grief within the family
The University of Notre Dame Australia
Law & Order Forum
• FASD
• they have attended an inadequate amount
of schooling - they are too tired to go to
school or too traumatised to learn if they
do go to school
• they have no sense of their own identity
• they have no sense of any positive self
esteem
• they have an overwhelming sense of
hopelessness
The University of Notre Dame Australia
Law & Order Forum
• they have no respect for themselves and
so none for anyone else or the property of
anyone else
• they often have unstable accommodation
or have to fend for themselves for
accommodation, food and other
necessities of life
• they often have to worry about one or both
of their own parents and/or take on the
caring role of another family member and
as a result miss out on their own
childhood.
• The underlying causes of criminal
behaviour show the need to reconnect
justice and welfare systems for children
and families in crisis.
• Criminal justice needs to be seen as a part
of social justice.
The University of Notre Dame Australia
Law & Order Forum
• The lives of young aboriginal offenders
include multiple layers of crises all
happening at the same time.
• Increase in serious mental health
problems.
• An emergence of cases where very young
children are not fit to stand trial.
The University of Notre Dame Australia
Law & Order Forum
• Because causative factors are outside the
criminal justice system, solutions must
include programs provided from outside
the criminal justice system.
Key Players
• The aboriginal
communities and
aboriginal people
themselves.
• Police
• Youth Justice
• DCP
• Department of Health
• Drug and Alcohol
Office
• Education and
Training
• Sport and Recreation
• Housing
• DOTAG
• DIA
• There are obvious long term problems if 23 years of primary education is missed.
• Poor life skills, literacy and numeracy
levels minimize employment prospects.
Remands / Bail
• Bail Act – Children have qualified right to
bail
• Need for placements and responsible
adults
• Need for safe houses and hostels
The University of Notre Dame Australia
Law & Order Forum
• Remands in custody in country WA result
in children being transported to a detention
centre in Perth. This results in dislocation
from family, land and culture.
• Need for collaboration, and particularly
after hours, by the police, the community,
Youth Justice, and DCP on bail
placements.
Empowerment
• The power of and respect for current and
prospective elders and leaders of aboriginal
communities needs to be supported and
enhanced.
• Aboriginal people should be supported and be
allowed to take ownership of youth issues.
• Need for partnerships between agencies and
aboriginal organisations and aboriginal people
for program development and delivery.
The University of Notre Dame Australia
Law & Order Forum
• Need for culturally appropriate programs.
• Need for aboriginal mentors.
• Local communities have ownership and
develop solutions best suited for their
particular community – one size does not
fit all.
• Involvement of aboriginal people in JJTs
particularly in regional areas.
• Capacity building and supports need to be at the
three levels of:
• the child
• the family
• the community
• There needs to be empowerment and
connection at all three levels.
• Providing buildings is important but providing
things such as culture, values, and emotional
supports is more important.
The University of Notre Dame Australia
Law & Order Forum
• In addition to case management, there
also needs to be a community
management model applied. That is
particularly so where communities have a
high level of dysfunction.
Alcohol Restrictions
• Alcohol restrictions are having positive
results – Halls Creek, Fitzroy Crossing
• While there may be some mobility away
from restricted areas to non-restricted
areas there is a level of mobility in any
event
• To deal with underlying causative issues
there is a need to take away the overlay of
alcohol abuse and the constant flow of
alcohol.
 The number of damaged aboriginal children
appearing before the Children's Court who are
themselves expecting a child or have children is
increasing. If these damaged children
themselves each have six children, who in turn
each have six children, which is very possible,
then in two generations, each of short duration,
the number of damaged aboriginal children
could increase exponentially from a multiple of 1
to 36 (1 x 6 x 6 = 36). To some extent this will be
cushioned because people, including children,
do not all react to the same trauma in the same
way. Even so this is an alarming prospect.
The University of Notre Dame Australia
Law & Order Forum
 Every child is entitled to expect a long life and
quality of life. We are talking about children.
 There is an urgent and increasing need for
change in service delivery for aboriginal children
which will benefit both the children and also the
community as a whole.