Without ambitious justice targets there will be more Black deaths in custody
Today Aboriginal and non-Indigenous legal, health and social justice organisations responded to Government claims that they were working on “ambitious” targets; and called for real and decisive action to end Blak deaths in custody.
Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt has announced that there will be a justice target within the Closing the Gap refresh. What is not clear, is whether the target will be sufficiently ambitious - and backed up with sub-targets, timelines and transparent reporting mechanisms - to save lives.
Sophie Trevitt, EO of Change the Record:
“For these justice targets to make a real difference; they need to be ambitious enough to end the over-incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people before hundreds more lives are lost. In 2018, COAG announced justice targets that went nowhere near far enough. They only aimed to reduce the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in prison by a tiny 5% over 10 years.
“That would leave Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people waiting hundreds of years for parity. It would see over a thousand more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people die in custody. If the government is serious about taking action, then we need to see real justice targets that will deliver real justice in our lifetimes.”
Pauline Wright, President of the Law Council of Australia:
“We are still waiting for a response from government to the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) seminal Pathways to Justice report into the incarceration rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, more than two years after its publication. This simply is not good enough.
The Law Council supports the implementation of strong, national justice targets to see an end to the gross overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the criminal justice system. This is a national tragedy on our own doorstep which cannot be ignored.”
Shahleena Musk, Senior Lawyer, Human Rights Law Centre:
“Almost thirty years ago the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody found that the primary driver of Aboriginal deaths in custody was the mass incarceration of our people. That remains the case today.
“Australian Government’s have failed to act even when the solutions are presented to them, including the recent Australian Law Reform Commission’s Pathways to Justice report that presents a clear roadmap to addressing this crisis. If Australian Governments valued Aboriginal lives, they would act on the countless recommendations of inquiry after inquiry and repeal those laws that lead to mass imprisonment including mandatory sentencing, reverse onus bail laws and imprisonment for fine default. If they value Aboriginal kids and their futures, they would raise the age of legal responsibility from 10 to 14 years and invest in keeping kids in school and in their communities.
Paul Wright, National Director of ANTaR:
“Despite comments from the Government to the contrary, many of the Royal Commission recommendations remain unimplemented and gathering dust. This is shameful in light of the 437 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths in custody that have followed since.
“For real change, we need to see a commitment to ambitious justice targets and genuine legislative reform at a Federal, State and Territory level. Governments must legislate to keep children out of prison and end the practice of imprisoning people for unpaid fines and minor traffic offences - these changes could be made tomorrow if the political will is there.”
Cass Goldie, CEO ACOSS:
“Prisons are warehouses for people experiencing poverty, homelessness, victims of violence and disproportionately people with mental and physical disabilities. Strong, ambitious justice targets will need to be backed up with adequate housing, a proper social security safety net and importantly, community controlled and led investment for the long term.
“Governments must stop putting people in prison because of poverty. Too many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are ending up in prison cells because they don’t have adequate housing, sufficient money to pay rent, high rates of unemployment and the long legacy of trauma in this country.”
RECOMMENDATIONS:
We are calling on Commonwealth, state and territory governments to implement ambitious justice targets and take the following five steps to end Blak deaths in custody:
End the mass imprisonment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by repealing punitive bail laws; mandatory sentencing laws; and decriminalising public drunkenness.
Stop imprisoning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and raise the age of legal responsibility from 10 to 14 years.
Promote different models of policing and real accountability by prioritising models of policing that promote partnerships and collaborations with Aboriginal communities, Elders and ACCOs and legislate for independent investigations of deaths in custody and the resourcing of independent police oversight bodies
Implement all recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, ALRC Pathways to Justice and the countless independent investigations, coronial inquests and reports that have been published in the three decades since.
End the abuse, torture and solitary confinement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in police and prison cells through legislative safeguards and by urgently establishing independent oversight bodies to monitor the conditions and treatment of people detained; in accordance with our obligations under the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT).
Media contact:
Sophie Trevitt, Change the Record: 0431843095 – sophie@changetherecord.org.au
Michelle Bennett, Human Rights Law Centre: 0419 100 519
