Indigenous Australians Case Study

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The relationship between Indigenous Australians and the law is an issue of widespread concern. For years, indisputably Indigenous Australians have been well over-represented within the criminal justice system, more than any other social group as both offenders and victims. Despite accounting for less than three per cent (3%) of the overall population of Australia, Indigenous Australians make up forty per cent (40%) of those imprisoned (Australian Institute of Criminology. (2015). pp.1). Data on police litigation against offenders demonstrated that Indigenous Australians are approximately fourteen times more likely to be incarcerated than non-Indigenous people, with Indigenous Australians offending at a significantly higher rate of 1 in 10 (The …show more content…

et. Al. (2006). pp. 527). Individuals engage in crime and deviant activities due to feelings of deprivation in relation to those more affluent than themselves. If individuals “[are] lacking the opportunities to increase their affluence… through paid employment and access to illegitimate opportunities” they partake in criminal activities to reduce this deprivation (Brown, F. H. (2014). pp. 1). According to Skinner (2011), some theorists argue that relative deprivation within racial or ethnic groups will increase crime whereas comparatively, others assert that inequality between these groups will increase crime. The theory of relative deprivation is effective when used to understand the overrepresentation of Indigenous Australians in the criminal justice system. “Street crime, including burglary, shoplifting and street robbery are those which come most readily to mind when considering relative deprivation” (Brown, F. (2014). pp. 27). Relative deprivation is caused when Indigenous citizens are “socialised according to the culture of mainstream society, but are simultaneously denied to opportunities to obtain social equality” (Skinner, V. (2011). pp. 84) such as employment for instance. In 2010, the overall Indigenous unemployment rate was 18%, 3 times the non-Indigenous rate (Creative Spirits. (2015). pp. 1). Moreover, in 2011, the percentage of Indigenous related offenses involving theft comprised 81% of the total offenses (Australian Government. (2012). pp.139). As a result, these significantly high statistics provide insight into the clear correlation between the crimes associated with relative deprivation and the overrepresentation of Indigenous Australians in the criminal justice

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