indigenous imprisonment rates: indicative of entrenched disadvantage more than serious criminality?...

INDIGENOUS IMPRISONMENT RATES:INDICATIVE OF ENTRENCHED DISADVANTAGE MORE THAN SERIOUS CRIMINALITY?

Australian and New Zealand Society of CriminologyHosted by Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria

28th September 2011

Peter Norden AOVice Chancellor’s Fellow

Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne

Australian and New Zealand Social of Criminology, 2011 Annual Conference

• Australian Prison Population (ABS,4517.0):• June 20, 2010: 29,700 prisoners

• National imprisonment rate:

170 prisoners per 100,000 adult pop.

(134 non-indigenous prisoner rate)

• Indigenous imprisonment rate:(14 times non-indig)

1,892 per 100,000 adult population


• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities comprise about 3% of the Australian population

• Represents just over one quarter (26% or 7,584) of the total prisoner population

• A rate more than 14 times higher than the non-indigenous rate

Ref; ABS, 4517.0, Prisoners in Australia (December 2010)


• Rate of increase in imprisonment:• Between 2000 and 2010, total increase of

37% (21,714 to 29,700)

• Total Male increase: 35%• Total Female increase:60%• Indigenous increase: 60%

(1,248 rate in 2000 – 1,892 rate in 2010)

Ref: ABS, 4517.0 Prisoners in Australia


• Rate of repeat imprisonment trends:• Between 1994 – 2007, an average annual

increase of 3.7% • Cf National annual pop increase of 1.2%

• Increase in prisoners with prior imprisonment grew at rate of 3.2% per year during that time

Ref: ABS, 1351.0.55.031 (August 2010)

Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology: 2011 National Conference

• Question presented for consideration:

• Is this related to increase in serious criminality?

• Is it reflected in the crime statistics?

• Role of harsher sentencing policies…

• But what else could explain the consistently higher rate of indigenous imprisonment in particular?

Emeritus Professor

Tony Vinson

Author & Researcher

Faculty of Education

& Social Work,

University of Sydney

THE INDICATORS

(1) SOCIAL DISTRESS: low family income, rental stress, home purchase stress, lone person households.(2) HEALTH: low birth-weight, childhood injuries, immunisation, disability / sickness support, life expectancy, psychiatric patients: hospital / community, suicide.(3) COMMUNITY SAFETY: child maltreatment, criminal convictions, imprisonment, domestic violence.(4) ECONOMIC: unskilled workers, unemployment, long-term unemployment, dependency ratio, low mean taxable income, limited computer use / internet access.(5) EDUCATION: non-attendance at preschool, incomplete education, early school leaving, post-schooling qualifications.(6) COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: a range of Victorian community indicators.

MOST DISADVANTAGED 3% OF AUSTRALIA’S LOCALITIES (68 PLACES) VS. REMAINDER

Unemployment double rate of rest

Disability Support double rate of rest

Psychiatric admissions double rate of rest

Criminal Convictions more than double the rate

Long-term unemployment 2.5 times rate of rest

Imprisonment nearly three times the rate of rest

Confirmed child maltreatment 3.5 times the rate of rest

DISADVANTAGE FACTOR CORRELATIONS: VICTORIA: CRIME

.601 Low job skills

.535 Job Qualifications

.633 Disability Pensions

.544 Year 12 Incomplete

.534 Low income

DISADVANTAGE FACTOR CORRELATIONS: VICTORIA: IMPRISONMENT

.466 Low job skills

.444 Low pre-school attendance

.411 Unemployment

.379 Year 12 Incomplete

.506 Low taxable income

.527 Child mistreatment

.661 Public rental housing

25% of the Victorian prison population came from 14 postcodes

(out of a total of 647)


• Interpretation of this data to our discussion:• If indigenous persons are over-represented

by 14 times the rate in our national prison population

• If the total population of the most seriously disadvantaged postcodes are also over-represented at 3 times the expected rate

• The Vinson data (26 variables) suggests high levels of localised social disadvantage may be clearer indicators of high imprisonment rates than criminality alone.


• So local areas such as Corio and Norlane (3214) and East Geelong 3219) may have similar patterns of over-representation in our prison systems as indigenous communities.

• Corio/Norlane: 4th highest imprisonment postcode• East Geelong: 17th highest (out of 700 postcodes)

• What implications does this have for criminal justice systems and crime prevention strategies?

• Can resources be shifted from criminal justice interventions to broad based preventative programs?

indigenous imprisonment rates: indicative of entrenched disadvantage more than serious criminality?...

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