WA continues with Australia's worst incarceration rates of juveniles, worst incarceration rates of Aboriginal youth and Aboriginal adult males in Australia. 70% of WA's juvenile detention population are Aboriginal youth and 40% of the state's 13 adult prisons comprise of Aboriginal males. 2.8% only of the state population is Aboriginal.
That's a shocking statistic. Now, Youth Affairs Council executive Craig Comrie states: "We need to intervene early, even prior to young people becoming involved in criminal behaviour and that's where we can make the most significant difference."
That fantasy poses a problem, the race card. If another ASI dept was set up to coach and 'guide' aboriginal children who had no offences recorded their would be an out cry of racist discrimination. Then if you target them once they offend you still get a cry of racist discrimination. What's the solution? I seriously believe the parents need to be involved. Aboriginals are very much into extended family. It can't be said the family support is unavailable. The problem seems to be that the wrong role is being portrayed by the members.
