Underlying causes of Aboriginal over-representation

Disengaging from school and lack of educational attainment increase the risk of an individual committing an offence and becoming involved in the justice system.

Over half of all young people in custody had been previously suspended or expelled from school[iv]. While there remain gaps between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal education outcomes, more Aboriginal students are staying in school longer.

Aboriginal people with cognitive impairments are more likely to come into contact with police earlier and more frequently that their non-Aboriginal counterparts.

Eleven per cent of Aboriginal young people in custody were registered with Disability Services[v].

Unemployment increases the risk of justice system involvement.

Half of all first time offenders were unemployed at time of arrest. Aboriginal unemployment is 14 per cent, more than double the non-Aboriginal rate and even higher among the Aboriginal youth population[vi].

Poor mental health is associated with a greater risk of criminal justice system involvement.

Forty per cent of all young people in youth justice custody presented with mental health issues[vii]. Seventy-two per cent of Aboriginal men and 92 per cent of Aboriginal in prison women had received a lifetime diagnosis of mental illness[viii].

High levels of substance use are reported among Aboriginal offenders.

Aboriginal offenders are more likely to report being under the influence of alcohol and/or other drugs at the time of offence and more likely to attribute their offending to substance use than non-Aboriginal offenders[ix]. Sixty-five per cent of young people detained on sentence and remand had a history of alcohol and licit and illicit drug use, and 82 per cent reported that the use of either drugs or alcohol were a factor that contributed to their offending behaviour[x].

Endemic and entrenched forms of racism can result in Aboriginal people being excluded from full participation in Victorian society.

Institutional racism and systemic discrimination perpetuates the marginalisation of Aboriginal people. Forty-six per cent of Aboriginal people experienced racial discrimination in the six months prior to the Reconciliation Australia Barometer survey [xi].Thirty-seven per cent of Aboriginal Victorians felt they had been treated unfairly in the past twelve months because they were Aboriginal[xii].

Children who have been involved in the Child Protection and/or out-of-home care systems are at greater risk of future justice system involvement.

In June 2017 there were 2,091 Aboriginal children in out-of-home care in Victoria – the highest number in the past decade. Rates of out-of-home care are over 15 times higher for Aboriginal children than non-Aboriginal children[xiii].

Being a witness or victim of family violence early in life increases the risk of future justice system involvement as an offender.

An estimated 87 per cent of all Aboriginal women in custody have been a victim of sexual, physical or emotional abuse, with most having suffered abuse in multiple forms[xiv]. Seventy-one per cent of young people in custody were victims of abuse, trauma or neglect[xv].

Substandard and inadequate housing can lead to poor health, which is an underlying cause of incarceration.  Homelessness is also a serious issue.

Thirteen per cent of young people were homeless with no fixed address or living in insecure housing before being taken into custody[xvi].Victoria has one of the highest proportions (37 per cent) of Aboriginal people who have experienced homelessness, with almost nine per cent of all clients accessing specialist homelessness services in Victoria being Aboriginal[xvii].