Essay on Racial Profiling Arrests In Australia Essay

Over the years, the disproportionate incarceration of Indigenous Australians has been a serious issue, particularly in the prison system. Indigenous Australians make up around three percent of the population, but account for around fifteen percent of the prison population. This is largely due to the system's tendency to over represent Indigenous people in the criminal justice system. The concentration of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system has a number of serious impacts on their ability to access basic rights and services, such as education and employment.

In September 2021 it was recorded that 2,394 per 100,000 adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders were in an Australian prisons. Since 1989, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rate has increased by 12 times faster than non-indigenous people in Australia. Statistics went from “1 in 7 prisoners in 1992 to 1 in 4 in 2012 and to almost 1 in 3 in 2014. To try to reduce the high numbers, numerous initiatives, plans, and programs have been formed, some of which have failed and others which are still in development. The high incarceration rate of Indigenous Australians is seen as a global problem that has to be addressed.

Solutions to the overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australian prison Indigenous Australians are overrepresented in prisons in Australia, making up around 2% of the population but accounting for over 20% of the prison population. This has had a detrimental effect on the Indigenous community, which has a higher imprisonment rate than the national average and is more likely to be imprisoned for a minor offense than a non-Indigenous person. This issue has been identified as a priority by the Australian government, which has set a target of reducing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rate to the national average by 2030. The most common solution to the overrepresentation of Indigenous Australians in prison has been to increase the number of Indigenous people in prison positions, such as correctional officers.

Rates of arrest, and racial profiling arrest

Australia has become a multicultural society. Given that this is the case, it is inevitable that there will be some friction between cultures. However, there is a difference between friction and racism. Racism is the belief that one race is superior to another.

“It is unlawful for a person to do an act, otherwise than in private, if: (a) the act is reasonably likely in all the circumstances to offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate another person or group of people, and (b) the act is done because of the race, colour or national or ethnic origin of the other person or some or all of the people in the group.”

As of the Racial Discrimination Act in Australia it is illegal to racially profile or perform racism comments toward individuals, although there have been many situations where the justice system doesn’t cooperate with the laws to do with law enforcement being racist.

As racism is still a continuous problem in Australia. It is apparent in many aspects of society, and it is often a source of division and tension. Racism towards indigenous Australians is one of the most visible forms of discrimination in modern Australia. In Australia, indigenous people are being arrested more often than white people for the same offences, yet the average prison sentence is much longer for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

When indigenous Australians are arrested, they are often subject to abusive language, deliberate interruptions to cause delays in providing them with legal representation and are treated in ways that would not be tolerated if the person who was being arrested was not indigenous.

High rates of unemployment and low levels of education are strongly correlated with higher imprisonment rates. Indigenous people make up just over half of the Australian population, and yet they are among the most disadvantaged. They face barriers to employment and education, leaving them at a disadvantage when it comes to finding a job or gaining an education. Those who do manage to find work are often overworked and underpaid, and face discrimination in the job market. They suffer from a lower rate of education and employment, which leads them into a cycle of poverty and imprisonment. Most of the problems faced by the indigenous population are a result of the actions of the government and the legacy of a past where Indigenous people were treated as second class citizens, which has caused generations to become disadvantaged. Indigenous people face a number of barriers to employment and education, which in turn leads to a higher incarceration rate. One of the most significant is the education gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. Indigenous people are three times as likely to be unemployed as non-Indigenous Australians and are also less likely to have completed high school.

The statistics shown above (figure 1) portrays the difference between indigenous people and non-indigenous people in Australia who have attained their High School Certificate over the years. This evidence shows that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders don’t get to school to achieve their High School Diploma as much as non-indigenous Australians do. Few of the main reasons that discourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders from get the equal education they deserve; the lack of cultural awareness among teachers and students in the playground and classrooms, teachers and students should understand and be respectable that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students can learn differently, disengaged teachers and peers with lack of community resources doesn’t particularly encourage indigenous students to succeed in their schooling.

The following facts (above figure 2) are sourced from the University of Wollongong. The following figures relate to the comparison of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with non-Indigenous Australians in Year 12 completion rate and after high school education, training and/or employment. As the low rate for finishing Year 12 in high school for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders is 61.5% compared to non-Indigenous Australians with 87.9% shows the drastic 26.4% difference between each other does not benefit Indigenous Australians when looking for a later education, training or employment. This evidently shows that with fewer Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders with employment or education to make a living it can easily lead to imprisonment from not having the resources to stay alive alone but having to commit small crimes to survive.