CRIME, ABORIGINALITY AND THE

DECOLONISATION OF JUSTICE

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CRIME, ABORIGINALITY AND THE DECOLONISATION OF

JUSTICE

Harry Blagg

Hawkins Press 2008

Published in Sydney by: Hawkins Press An imprint of The Federation Press PO Box 45, Annandale, NSW, 2038 71 John St, Leichhardt, NSW, 2040 Ph (02) 9552 2200 Fax (02) 9552 1681 E-mail: info@federationpress.com.au Website: www.federationpress.com.au

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Crime, Aboriginality and the Decolonisation of Justice Author Harry Blagg Bibliography. Includes index. ISBN 978 187606 719 9 (pbk) ISBN 978 187606 725 0 (ebook)

Restorative justice – Australia. Aboriginal Australians – criminal justice system. Criminal justice, Administration of – Australia. Aboriginal Australians – Legal status, laws, etc. Customary Law – Australia.

340.5294 © The Federation Press

This publication is copyright. Other than for the purposes of and subject to the conditions prescribed under the Copyright Act, no part of it may in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, microcopying, photocopying, recording or otherwise) be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted without prior written permission. Enquiries should be addressed to the publishers.

Typeset by The Federation Press, Leichhardt, NSW. Printed by Ligare Pty Ltd, Riverwood, NSW.

v

Contents

Acknowledgments vi

1. Introduction: Decolonising Criminology 1

2. Criminal Justice as Waste Management: Modernity and its Shadow 18

3. Aboriginal Youth: Culture, Resistance and the Dynamics of Self-Destruction 58

4. Restorative Justice: A Good Idea Whose Time Has Gone? 74

5. Aboriginal Police and Policing 91

6. Aboriginal Self-Policing Initiatives 107

7. Silenced in Court: Aboriginal People and the Courts 126

8. Family Violence 136

9. Aboriginal Customary Law: From Denial to Recognition 153

10. Aboriginal Customary Law: From Recognition to Abolition? 167

11. Governance from Below: Community Justice Mechanisms, Crime and Disorder 182

Concluding Comments: Moving Forward 200

References 208

Index 226

vi

Acknowledgements

This book could not have been written without the support and assistance of colleagues at the Crime Research Centre UWA, particularly Neil Mor-gan, Richard Harding, Anna Ferrante and Jude Rowholt. Students on the Masters course, Aboriginality, Crime and Justice, have provided excellent feedback on themes covered in the book. I should also thank colleagues at the Law Reform Commission of Western Australia for allowing me to work on the Customary Law project. Particular thanks are owed to numerous Aboriginal people and orga-nisations across Australia who gave me their time over the years, on a diverse series of projects. It has been a privilege to work so closely with Aboriginal people and walk on traditional lands. I would like to acknowledge my debt to Patrick Dodson, Mick Dodson, Donella Raye, Aunty Beth Woods, Maureen Carter, June Oscar, Kath Ryan, the late Glynnis Sibosado, Dean Collard, Dennis Eggington, the elders at Kimberley Law and Culture and Kate George. Special thanks are owing to Gillian Eckersley for her unstinting sup-port, encouragement and companionship. I would also like to offer thanks to Jenny Exall at Federation Press.

For my parents Harry and Margaret Blagg