According to ALSWA these "have been repeatedly examined by numerous federal and state inquiries", and the reasons fall into two categories: "The first category are underlying factors that contribute to higher rates of offending (e.g., socio-economic disadvantage, the impact of colonisation and dispossession, Stolen Generations, intergenerational trauma, substance use disorder, homelessness and overcrowding, lack of education and physical and mental health issues).
"[10] A submission by Mick Gooda to a 2016 government report emphasised that the rates of crime and incarceration of Indigenous people could not be viewed separately from history or the current social context.
Indigenous Australians fare much worse than non-Indigenous citizens in relation to these four factors, and mental illness, including foetal alcohol spectrum disorders, and overcrowded housing also play a part.
The statistics were imperfect also because NHMP data is gathered from police records, which may not always identify race accurately, but an earlier review had reported "...although the statistics are imperfect, they are sufficient to demonstrate the disproportionate occurrence of violence in the Indigenous communities of Australia and the traumatic impact on Indigenous people.
[16] The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women’s Task Force on Violence (2000, p. ix) reported that "The high incidence of violent crime in some Indigenous communities, particularly in remote and rural regions, is exacerbated by factors not present in the broader Australian community...Dispossession, cultural fragmentation and marginalisation have contributed to the current crisis in which many Indigenous persons find themselves; high unemployment, poor health, low educational attainment and poverty have become endemic elements in Indigenous lives...".
The report, Putting the picture together: Inquiry into response by government agencies to complaints of family violence and child abuse in Aboriginal communities, said that "[t]he statistics paint a frightening picture of what could only be termed an 'epidemic' of family violence and child abuse in Aboriginal communities.
[21] The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare gathered data for 2008–2009 on children aged 0–16 who were the subject of a confirmed child abuse report.
[24] The Australian Human Rights Commission's Social Justice Report 2008 said that, despite the likelihood of under-reporting, the 2005−2006 ABS statistics for confirmed child abuse did not appear to support the "allegations of endemic child abuse in NT remote communities that was the rationale for the Northern Territory National Emergency Response".
[26] Some of the "underlying issues associated with alcohol use and dependence [include] educational failure, family breakdown, the lack of meaningful employment and economic stagnation" (Homel, Lincoln & Herd 1999; Hazelhurst1997).
The drugs most often associated with violent crime (including domestic violence) in the whole Australian population are alcohol and methamphetamine.
Drug offences constituted a very small proportion of charges in rural communities, but substance use primarily involved alcohol, cannabis, petrol and other solvents, and, increasingly, amphetamines.
Indigenous women are highly over-represented in this figure, accounting for a higher proportion of assault victims than the non-Indigenous category.
[44] A large number of Indigenous Australians in imprisonment experience many problems, including malnutrition, disease, lack of opportunity, and erosion of their individual identity.
[45] There are many other factors associated with mental health effects while in custody, including psychological distress, life stresses, discrimination and domestic violence.
A study has shown that 50% of males and 85% of Indigenous females reported medium or higher levels of psychological distress.
RCIADIC concluded that the deaths were not caused by deliberate killing by police and prison officers, but that "glaring deficiencies existed in the standard of care afforded to many of the deceased".
Among the 2017 report's 13 recommendations are that state and territory governments should establish community-led prevention and early intervention programs to reduce violence against women; the removal of laws that disproportionately criminalise Indigenous women (such as imprisonment for non-payment of fines); and that a Custody Notification Schemes (CNS) should be set up in every jurisdiction.
[52][53][54] The 2018 ALRC Pathways to Justice report said that "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women constitute 34% of the female prison population.
[55] The majority of female Indigenous prisoners have experienced physical or sexual abuse, and the rate of family violence is higher in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities than the general population.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner June Oscar said "urgent action" was needed.
[56] New South Wales studies in 1976 and 2004 found that Aboriginal people were more likely to be refused bail than the general population, being instead detained on remand awaiting trial.
The Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous peoples from the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child had urged Australia to increase the age of criminal responsibility (10 years old in all states as of 2019[update]), saying that children "should be detained only as a last resort, which is not the case today for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children".
[63] The Attorney-General for Australia commissioned the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) in October 2016 to examine the factors leading to the disproportionate numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australian prisons, and to look at ways of reforming legislation which might ameliorate this "national tragedy".
The result of this in-depth enquiry was a report titled Pathways to Justice – Inquiry into the Incarceration Rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, which was received by the Attorney-General in December 2017 and tabled in Parliament on 28 March 2018.
The report listed 13 recommendations, covering many aspects of the legal framework and police and justice procedures, including that fine default should not result in the imprisonment.
In Bourke, a project called Maranguka Justice Reinvestment has police officers meeting with local Indigenous leaders each day, helping to identify at-risk youth, and includes giving free driving lessons to young people.
[65] There are different models in the various states and territories of Australia of modifying sentencing court processes to make the experience more culturally appropriate and effective for Indigenous defendants.
Informed by the restorative justice approach, circle sentencing seeks to integrate Aboriginal customary tradition into the legal process.
The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) analysed the program in 2008, looking at 68 participants, compared to a control group who had been dealt with through the local court.