Victoria’s Youth Diversion Scheme and the over-representation of Indigenous Youth in detention

Timothy Morrell

“The vast majority of Indigenous people will never come into contact with the criminal justice system in Australia. However, Indigenous people remain over-represented in detention across all Australian jurisdictions. This over-representation is a complex and ongoing issue stemming from Australia’s violent history of dispossession, assimilation policies and the forced disconnection from culture and community. While it has been established that the vast majority of underlying causes behind the over-representation of Indigenous people in Australia are external to the criminal justice system itself, the criminal justice system can play a role in addressing these underlying causes and in reducing the amount of Indigenous people in custody …”