Prisons for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People: meeting physical and mental health needs.

Abstract

Aboriginal peoples often fare very poorly in prison environments, large numbers of Aboriginal peoples enter the prison system with chronic illnesses, substance abuse problems, learning and cognitive disabilities and mental illness, the numbers of Aboriginal prisoners dying prison custody continues to be unacceptably high[1] and as a group, Aboriginal prisoners continue to face multiple layers of social disadvantage. As well as these impacts, the experiences of incarceration have profound effects on the wider Aboriginal population. As part of the criminal justice system, incarceration fosters and compounds Indigenous anger, often leading to greater levels of fear and frustration within communities. The significance of the prison environment, its impact on Aboriginal prisoners and the flow on effects to Aboriginal families, communities and the wider community becomes increasingly important when the increasing rate incarceration of Aboriginal peoples in the Australian prison system is considered. It has been suggested that Indigenous imprisonment would be “near or at the top of any world league table”. Between 2000 and 2013, the number of Indigenous prisoners rose by 11 per cent with Indigenous prisoners representing 25 per cent of the total Australian male prisoner population in 2013. Nationally, an Indigenous person was 13 times more likely to be in prison in 2013 than a non-Indigenous person.