Rehabilitative needs and treatment of Indigenous offenders in ...

Chapter 4Indigenous Offender Profile in QueenslandThis chapter provides an overview of selected characteristics ofQueensland Indigenous offenders. It is observed that Indigenousoffenders are over-represented in custody and have a different offenceprofile from non-Indigenous offenders. These differences are likely toimpact on the rehabilitation needs of Indigenous offenders. 5Indigenous Over-Representation in Queensland CustodyIndigenous persons currently represent three per cent of Queensland’sgeneral population, nearly 30 per cent of the prisoner population andapproximately 20 per cent of offenders under community supervision.Indigenous over-representation is also evident in imprisonment rates. In 2008,Indigenous persons were 11 times more likely to be incarcerated than non-Indigenous persons (ABS 2008). The over-representation of Indigenousoffenders in custody is evident in other Australian jurisdictions (ABS 2008).Figure 4.1 shows how the over-representation of Indigenous offenders hasincreased since 2000. This increase occurred despite the signing of theQueensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Justice Agreement in 2000which set out to reduce the rate of Indigenous persons coming into contactwith the criminal justice system to at least the same rate as non-Indigenouspersons. Indigenous offenders represented approximately 23 per cent of thetotal prisoner population at December 2000 compared with approximately 29per cent at December 2010. The Indigenous offender population increased by59 per cent in the period between December 2000 and December 2009 whilethe total prisoner population increased by 27 per cent. The overrepresentationof Indigenous offenders in custody is driven in part by a rise inthe number of Indigenous offenders on remand. 6 Increases in Indigenousover-representation are greatest after June 2004. The number of Indigenousoffenders on remand increased by 65 per cent between December 2004 andDecember 2009 compared with a 24 per cent increase for the total prisonerpopulation.5 The information provided in this chapter is derived from various sources. Some data isadmissions-based, while other data refer to a point in time. Admissions-based data producesa higher number of offenders than ‘as at’ data because it counts the total number of offendersadmitted into custody during a certain time period; ‘as at’ data counts the number of offendersin custody at a certain point in time. Admissions-based data is sensitive to the turnover ofshort-term offenders entering and exiting custody.6 Readers are advised the remand information provided in this report is likely to over-state theremand population size due to data issues outlined in Chapter two.24