Change the Record
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ATSILS CEO on addressing Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Disadvantage in the Justice System

shane_DuffyWELL WORTH A LISTEN: A 7 minute insight from our CEO & Change The Record Co-Chair Shane Duffy highlighting the burning issues driving incarceration rates and what’s needed to create smarter justice and safer communities.

The Change The Record Coalition is a group of key organisations who have come together and developed a concrete plan for Federal, State and Territory Governments to address soaring Aboriginal imprisonment rates and high levels of experienced violence within a generation.

Listen Here:
https://radio.adelaide.edu.au/indigenous-incarceration-sha…/

View the Plan: “Blueprint for Change”:
https://changetherecord.org.au/blueprint-for-change

Change The Record – Steering Committee:
https://changetherecord.org.au/about

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25th Anniversary of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody

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Today is the 25th Anniversary of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Report ‪#‎RCIADIC‬

This morning ATSILS CEO Shane Duffy and Dr Jackie Huggins Co-Chairs of Change the Record Coalition are at Parliament House in Canberra commemorating lives lost and working for change.

In the 25 years since the handing down of the RCIADIC report Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander incarceration rates have almost doubled. It time for change. Here’s what’s needed:
https://changetherecord.org.au/blueprint-for-change

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More Education NOT Incarceration- The Queensland Law Society strengthens calls for justice reforms & targets.

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Indigenous incarceration costs almost double price of uni education

Queensland Law Society Media Release:

Queensland Law Society president Bill Potts has called for reforms to reduce the nation’s appalling rate of indigenous imprisonment – saying it costs taxpayers almost twice as much to lock people up than provide them with an elite university education.

Mr Potts said it was time for the state and federal governments to set “aspirational targets’’ to reduce incarceration of indigenous Australians and implement strategies and policies to guarantee positive outcomes.

He said the current estimated cost of incarceration in Queensland was $66,000 per prisoner each year – while the cost of keeping a person fed, clothed, with a roof over their head and a university education was about $38,000.

Federal Productivity Commission figures from 2013/14 show the number of Indigenous Australians imprisoned was 16 times higher than non-Indigenous people.

The call follows the recent announcement by the Northern Territory Government to set justice targets aimed at halving the rate of Aboriginal imprisonment by 2030 and a call by the Law Council of Australia for state and federal intergovernmental action.

“Statistics show that it costs more to incarcerate a person for five years than it would to send them to one of Queensland’s best universities. I know how I’d rather my taxes be spent,’’ Mr Potts said.

“Courts like the Murri Court and the Drug Court have been successful in reducing reoffending and incarceration, and it is good to see them on the way back in Queensland.

“Keeping indigenous people out of the prison system through these rehabilitation measures will give them a chance at a better life – and it’s simply good economics. From our point of view, it is much better to educate than incarcerate.’’

View Media Release in Full

Change the Record
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Change The Record Coalition meeting in Sydney today calls for national action on justice issues

MEDIA RELEASE – 25.02.16

A coalition of  organisations meeting in Sydney today have called for national action on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment and violence rates, following recent positive initiatives by governments in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.  The group includes leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, human rights and legal organisations.

Change the Record Coalition Co-Chair Shane Duffy said, “In the past few weeks, positive steps forward have been taken. We welcome for instance the inclusion of justice targets in the Northern Territory’s new Aboriginal Affairs Policy. We have long called for the development of national justice targets and it is important to see the Territory taking initiative in this area”.

“We also welcome a recent commitment by the Western Australian Government to work towards supporting prevention and diversion initiatives to keep people out of the criminal justice system in the first place. It was also encouraging to hear that Western Australian Government has expanded a support service for Aboriginal people in custody; however what is really needed is a commitment to fund and legislate for a ‘Custody Notification Service’, an independent and mandatory service administered by an Aboriginal community-controlled legal service.”

“Actions speak louder than words, and we remain deeply concerned by the ongoing impact of laws, such as mandatory sentencing and the Northern Territory’s Paperless Arrests scheme, which disproportionately impact upon Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.”

“It was also extremely distressing to hear reports from a Senate Inquiry last week that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, who are victims/survivors of domestic violence, have intentionally breached bail in order to go back to prison due to a lack of safe support services available in their communities”.

“Governments must translate their plans into tangible and meaningful action.  This can only be achieved in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and community-controlled organisations,” said Mr Duffy.

View Media Release in Full

Law Council of Australia
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National mood for change on Indigenous incarceration must be seized by COAG – The Law Council of Australia

The Law Council of Australia has called on the Federal and State Governments to act on Australia’s disastrous rate of Indigenous imprisonment, following recent positive steps in the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

Earlier this week, the Northern Territory Government announced plans to set justice targets, to halve the rate of Aboriginal imprisonment by 2030, while Western Australia will establish a new 1800 hotline for Aboriginal prisoners in Western Australia, which will help to reduce instances of self-harm and suicide in custody. Law Council of Australia President Stuart Clark AM called on the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) to seize the opportunity for intergovernmental action.

“Australia’s Indigenous incarceration rates represent a national crisis. Justice targets and an intergovernmental strategy on imprisonment and community violence must be on the agenda at the next COAG meeting,” Mr Clark said.

“Indigenous people represent just 2.5 per cent of the population, but 27 per cent of the prison population. Indigenous children represent 50 per cent of those in juvenile detention. This cannot be allowed to continue.

“Until governments commit to targets and genuine, evidence-based measures, Indigenous incarceration will continue to grow,” Mr Clark said.

View Media Release in Full

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Stand With Indigenous Kids in Australia – Amnesty International

Community KidsIn one month, our state and federal leaders will meet to discuss the issues most pressing for a peaceful, prosperous Australia.

Make sure that the over-representation of Indigenous kids behind bars is high on their agenda > http://amn.st/6186Bu97n

For kids, community is everything. It’s kids’ connections with family and community that lets them flourish, and sets them up for life. Belonging matters and communities provide it.

But our government is separating Indigenous kids from their communities. Kids as young as 10 are being locked up, all across Australia.

If you’re an Indigenous kid, you are 24 times more likely to be locked up than your non-Indigenous classmates.

Fortunately, Indigenous people have the solutions — community-led programs that support kids, and if they get in trouble, help them address the reasons why. Now we need our government to support these solutions too.

http://amn.st/6186Bu97n

‪#‎CommunityIsEverything‬ ‪#‎ChangeTheRecord‬ ‪#‎Indigenous

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MEDIA RELEASE: NATSILS welcomes Labor commitment to closing the justice gap

Today National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS), the national peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (ATSILS) has welcomed Labor’s commitment to addressing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rates and experiences of violence.

In a speech delivered at the University of Melbourne Law School, Labor Leader Mr Shorten, vowed to put an end to the “grievous national shame” of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment and experiences of violence. The speech included a number of specific commitments including establishing justice targets through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) under a Labor government.

NATSILS Chairperson Shane Duffy said, “A commitment to targets for addressing the “justice gap” means that governments will be accountable for their performance in this area. We simply must work together in a co-ordinated way to address this critical issue.”

“As Chairperson of NATSILS we were particularly pleased to hear Mr Shorten commit to the appropriate resourcing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled legal services, including ATSILS and Family Violence Prevention Legal Services (FVPLS). These legal services are crucial to ensuring that vulnerable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, particularly women and children escaping family violence, are able to receive access to justice, Mr Duffy said.

“We also welcome Mr Shorten’s acknowledgement of the role that disability plays in the over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the criminal justice system. Recent research shows that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with mental illnesses and cognitive impairments experience a criminal, rather than a therapeutic response to their disabilities.”

“NATSILS will continue to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, organisations and all levels of government to address the crisis of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment and experiences of violence. We call on the Australian public to join us in demanding vital change and ask that all levels of government work with us to address this critical issue.”

Media Release:
http://www.natsils.org.au/portals/natsils/NATSILS%20welcomes%20Labor%20commitment%20to%20closing%20the%20justice%20gap%20FINAL.pdf?ver=2015-11-19-131301-867

 

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ATSILS CEO speaks to Lateline about mental health and links to justice issues

ATSILS CEO Shane Duffy on LatelineLateline’s Emma Alberici speaks with Change the Record Coalition Co-Chair & ATSILS CEO Shane Duffy and asks him what needs to be done to address the issue of Indigenous mental health, access to appropriate services and the links to over-representation of our people in the criminal justice system.

Watch the full interview here:
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2015/s4344050.htm