Juvenile Justice System Analysis

The current representation of Indigenous youth contact with the juvenile justice system is a widely researched and discussed topic through Australia. The widely accepted social consensus is that Indigenous youth are vastly over-represented within the justice system. Although a deeper exploration through the analysis of the history of the relationship between the Indigenous community and the early European settler to the criminalisation of the indigenous community by the state to 'help' and 'protect' the Indigenous children through the discussion of penal welfarism and deficint discourse and the discussion between the contemporarary Government and police-Aboriginal relationship and the mainstream services. These ideas are needed to be explored …show more content…
Historically the negative relationship between the police and the Aboriginal community has stereotyped their representation. (SOMA,2011). The basis of this can be theorised from the Aboriginal Protection Acts 1869 and 1909 which gave the state power to remove Aboriginal children from their families whereby it was rationalised through the form of bio-power that it was in the best interest of the child to better protect and remove them from the corrupting influence of their families (SOMA, 2011). The first childrens court was established within the Neglected Children and Young Offenders Act 1905 to bridge the gap between young offenders and the penal system. Instead of incarcerating children, rehabilitation and custodial alternatives were the virtues of the new welfare model of justice. This process was to be known as Penal Welfarism (CarringtonKPereria). CarrigntonKPereria notes that "realistically the penal welfarism court proceddings became focused on the nature of the individual and his or her family background rather than the offence." A process of deficit discources were used with regards to their forms of bio-power and social control which resulted in the removal and punishment, mostly instituionalised the children of the unwanted or unruly, (SOMA,2011). Although there was no formal forms of predujice in the process, with regards to the …show more content…
Aboriginal youth offenders are still over-represented in most areas of criminal activity partly due to the failure of the justice system as well as mainstream services not effectively catering to their needs (AIC). The Aboriginals and the police have had a past of distrust and to an extent, hate, towards one another stemming from colonial times resulting in resentment and aversion from Government authority. As a result of this even today Aboriginal youth offenders are still subject to discrimination and neglect in the juvenille justice system (ALRC). The main cause that Cunneen (conflict politics and crime) examines is that can the policing model used in relation to indigenous people an actual representation of offending levels or a social construct whereby policing influences particular groups or that police conduct racist policing. Most Aboriginal youth feel alienated from the greater community due to previous experiences and their inability to fit into social norms and its structure (AIC). As the police are the sole operators of justice in todays community they are the first contact point between the justice system and the community (cunneen conflict politics and crime). Police discretion is the major contensious point when examining the interaction between police and Aboriginal youth. This police power is

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