1. INDIGENOUS IMPRISONMENT RATES: INDICATIVE OF ENTRENCHED DISADVANTAGE MORE THAN SERIOUS CRIMINALITY? Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology Hosted by Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria 28 th September 2011 Peter Norden AO Vice Chancellor’s Fellow Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne

2. 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

3. Australian and New Zealand Social of Criminology, 2011 Annual Conference 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)

4. Australian and New Zealand Social of Criminology, 2011 Annual Conference 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

5. Australian and New Zealand Social of Criminology, 2011 Annual Conference 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)

6. 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?

7. Emeritus Professor Tony Vinson Author & Researcher Faculty of Education & Social Work, University of Sydney

8. 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.

10. DISADVANTAGE FACTOR CORRELATIONS: VICTORIA: CRIME.601Low job skills.535Job Qualifications.633Disability Pensions.544Year 12 Incomplete.534Low income

11. DISADVANTAGE FACTOR CORRELATIONS: VICTORIA: IMPRISONMENT.466Low job skills.444Low pre-school attendance.411Unemployment.379Year 12 Incomplete.506Low taxable income.527 Child mistreatment.661Public rental housing 25% of the Victorian prison population came from 14 postcodes (out of a total of 647)

12. Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology: 2011 National Conference 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.

13. Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology: 2011 National Conference 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: 4 th highest imprisonment postcode East Geelong: 17 th 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?

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