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Box 3.12.2 (continued)Victoria’s Koori Courts are a blend of Aboriginal custom and culture with theAnglo-Australian legal system. They reduce the perceptions of cultural alienation andtailor sentences to the cultural needs of the Koori offenders. The Koori Court,particularly the traditional elders and the offender’s family members, identify the causalissues facing the offender and encourage the offender to take responsibility for his orher actions.A review of the Shepparton and Broadmeadows Koori Courts over the two-year pilotperiod found that recidivism rates in those areas dropped by 12.5 per cent and15.5 per cent, respectively. The number of offenders who breached communitycorrections orders fell and fewer Koori defendants failed to show for their courtappearances. Further, the role of Koori Elders in court has reinforced the status andauthority of these leaders and strengthened the fabric of the Koori community as awhole (Office of the Attorney-General 2005).Box 3.12.3 ‘Things that work’ — Nunga Courts in SAIn SA, Nunga Courts are specialist magistrates courts which aim to make the justicesystem more culturally appropriate to Indigenous people. Nunga courts wereestablished in 1999 and currently operate at Port Adelaide, Murray Bridge, CooberPedy, Port Augusta and Ceduna (Office of Crime Statistics and Research 2004). Therehas been positive feedback from the Indigenous community on Nunga courts as theyare seen to provide a more culturally relevant environment that gives Indigenouspeople more input into the judicial process, particularly in relation to sentencing.Attendance rates for Indigenous people to Nunga courts are frequently around80 per cent compared with less than 50 per cent for general magistrates courts. TheNunga court has had success in reducing arrests for non-appearance by defendantson bail and in breaking the cycle of Indigenous imprisonment for unpaid fines byapplying alternative penalties such as community service and allowing the gradualpayment of fines (Office of Crime Statistics and Research 2004).123