Indigenous Peoples and Criminal Justice in Australia

Abstract

The authors of this chapter contextualise crime and criminal justice within Australian colonial history. They map the development of Aboriginal criminology in Australia and cover key themes that have disproportionately affected Indigenous peoples such as over-policing, lack of access to justice in the neoliberal context, incarceration, and deaths in custody. Finally, the authors reflect on Indigenous experiences of criminal justice, and various processes that challenge contemporary justice interventions, including Indigenous courts, night patrols, and community justice initiatives. The authors conclude by considering the possibilities of an Indigenous criminology.