How do social class gender and race/ ethnicity impact Australian experiences in the justice system

A closer look reveals there are significant differences among Australian citizens, which are not only reflected in their political system but also in how they view indigenous people. To many visitors, all Australians appear to share similar interests and cultural values, but closer inspection reveals this is not the case. Studies show that the criminal justice profile of indigenous Australians is biased in comparison to how the rest of the population is treated; the main reason for this is because police discretion has resulted in a high number of arrests of the aboriginal ethnicity (Cunneen and Tauri, 2016). Research has consistently revealed that the incarceration rate of the aborigines in Australia is more than the non-aborigines; as a result, they are highly over-represented in the penitentiary (Lincoln and Wilson, 1993). The findings of the study show that the levels of presentation across different races are not consistent, that the justice system is operating with a bias towards the minority races particularly the aborigines. The indigenous people have been harmed by Australia itself in a manner that is systemic, structured and forged by race.

What mechanisms do we have to respond to problems arising from these impacts laws and treaties?

The systemic harm initiated by the state of Australia’s justice system against the citizen of a minority race can be fixed by implementing transitional justice practices. The state should establish a commission that will engage the indigenous people to brainstorm issues within the justice system that affect them and how they can be addressed going forward. The core objective of the transitional justice framework will be to open communication, to let the minority air their grievances point out the bias within the justice system and how it has affected them, the state organs, on the other hand, have to acknowledge the injustices that have been perpetrated thus establishing a new and positive relationship between the minority and the state.

Scholars argue that several characteristics of the transitional justice forum are significant in the case of Australia’s criminal system; transitional justice obliges the state to take responsibility of any form of redress while the aggrieved parties the indigenous people control how the healing process will be implemented and achieved (Edmonds, 2016).

How can social research contribute to our understanding of these issues refer to quantitative and qualitative methods

Different methods can be applied to analyze the findings on criminal justice bias against the ethnic minority. A systematic search can be conducted of relevant content on the justice system and minority race groups; they can be sourced from the Ministry of Justice archives. A second qualitative method that can be applied is, the extensive search of scholarly academic databases like Criminal justice Abstracts; a search can be initiated using keywords to locate specific case files. A review of judicial websites like the Australian Institute of criminology can provide quantitative findings that will help comprehend the case scenario.

Identify 3 services within Victoria that respond to these problems

Three services within Victoria that address criminal injustices in Australia include individual and general deterrence, rehabilitation, and incapacitation. Deterrence dissuades an offender from future intent to commit a crime, rehabilitation changes the behavior of offenders to avoid criminal activities in future and lastly incapacitation which keeps of particular offenders to protect the community to ensure their safety and welfare is upheld.

References

Davis, B. (1999, March). The inappropriateness of the criminal justice system–Indigenous Australian criminological perspective. In 3rd National Outlook Symposium on Crime in Australia, Mapping the Boundaries of Australia’s Criminal Justice System convened by the Australian Institute of Criminology and held in Canberra (pp. 22-23).

Cunneen, C., & Tauri, J. (2016). Indigenous criminology. Policy Press.

Edmonds, P. (2016). Settler Colonialism and (Re) conciliation: Frontier violence, affective performances, and imaginative refoundings. Springer.

Smandych, R., Lincoln, R., & Wilson, P. (1993). Toward a cross-cultural theory of Aboriginal crime: A comparative study of the problem of Aboriginal overrepresentation in the criminal justice systems of Canada and Australia. International Criminal Justice Review, 3(1), 1-24.