Crime and violence prevention in an urban Indigenous community

Abstract

This paper considers the delicate issue of high crime rates in a disadvantaged population, and explores the appropriateness of existing crime and violence prevention strategies. The paper reports on a collaborative research project carried out in a small Australian city in 2002-2003 by the local police service, Indigenous community members and a university. The project gathered informa- tion about the extent and nature of crime in the local Indigenous community, exist- ing crime prevention initiatives and Indigenous community members’ perceptions of these initiatives. The key points emerging from this project were: the persistence of social divides separating Indigenous populations and non-Indigenous institu- tions such as the police service; the impact of these divides on the effectiveness of crime prevention activities; and the importance of face-to-face relationship-building in overcoming these social divides and improving the effectiveness of crime and violence prevention.