Closing the (incarceration) gap: assessing the socio-economic and clinical indicators of indigenous males by lifetime incarceration status

Stephane M Shepherd,Ben Spivak,Isabel Williams,Justin Trounson,Yin Paradies,Linda J Ashford

doi:10.1186/s12889-020-08794-3

Abstract

BackgroundApproximately 1 in 5 to 1 in 6 Indigenous Australian males are currently imprisoned or have previously been imprisoned. Recent work has also pointed to a widening socio-economic gap within the Indigenous population. Given the myriad social, wellbeing and environmental risk factors associated with justice-involvement, it is conceivable that incarceration may contribute to the increasing disparities found within the Indigenous population. This study aimed to explore the presence and extent of an ‘incarceration gap’ within the Indigenous population and to uncover which social factors characterise the disparity.MethodsThe study utilised data from the 2014–5 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS). A number of socio-economic, environmental and clinical factors were compared by life-time incarceration status. Chi-square tests were used to examine the association between incarceration status and each of the comparison variables.ResultsDisparities were observed within the Indigenous Australian population across a number of important health and socio-economic markers by incarceration status - the most pronounced being for educational obtainment – year 10 completion (Never incarcerated 73%, Ever incarcerated 50%), labour force participation (Never incarcerated 56%, Ever incarcerated 26%) and drug/alcohol problems (Never incarcerated 7%, Ever incarcerated 29%). Never-incarcerated Indigenous males yielded aggregate proportions across numerous variables that approximated or matched general Australian population estimates.ConclusionsThere appears to be evidence for a substantial ‘incarceration gap’ within the Indigenous Australian population.

Highlights

1 in 5 to 1 in 6 Indigenous Australian males are currently imprisoned or have previously been imprisoned
The Closing the Gap” (CTG) framework has been critiqued on a number of fronts including its assimilationist nature, in which Indigenous people are measured by their similarity to non-Indigenous Australians as the benchmark, an outwardly top-down design [5, 6], an incapacity to contend with structural racism [6], and an over-emphasis on the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations (‘between gap’) in preference to a broadening gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged Indigenous Australians (‘within gap’)
Rates of Indigenous incarceration have increased since CTG was established more than 10 years ago [10]

Summary

Introduction

1 in 5 to 1 in 6 Indigenous Australian males are currently imprisoned or have previously been imprisoned. Given the myriad social, wellbeing and environmental risk factors associated with justice-involvement, it is conceivable that incarceration may contribute to the increasing disparities found within the Indigenous population. A number of targets were delineated to address Indigenous disadvantage and reduce disparities in early childhood education, school attendance, literacy and numeracy attainments, employment outcomes and mortality rates. A number of draft justice targets were proposed in 2018 aimed at reducing the number of Indigenous Australians in the criminal justice system [2, 9]. Rates of Indigenous incarceration have increased since CTG was established more than 10 years ago [10]. Despite an overall drop in the numbers of young people under criminal justice supervision over the past 5 years, Indigenous rates compared to nonIndigenous rates have increased [11]

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