Racism in the justice system

First Peoples, multicultural and multifaith communities across Victoria face embedded racism in the justice system.[69]

Negative experiences and perceptions of the justice system for First Peoples, multicultural and multifaith communities also contribute to a lack of trust in the justice system, institutions and support services. The over-representation of First Peoples in Victorian criminal justice institutions and limited police accountability can result in trauma and mistrust of law enforcement.[70]

Incarceration separates people from their families, communities and support networks. This means that conviction and imprisonment cause lasting harm to racialised communities.[71] The Cultural Review of the Adult Custodial Corrections System in Victoria found that many First Peoples continue to experience the harmful effects of racism and discrimination in custodial environments. This can affect First Peoples’ safety and their access to:

• health care
• mental health support
• programs to support rehabilitation and transition into the community.[72]

The values and attitudes of police and corrections staff, including bias and prejudice, can influence how they exercise their powers.[73]

First Peoples youth are less likely to be cautioned and more likely to be detained or arrested compared with non–First Peoples peers.[74] First Peoples youth aged 10 to 17 years are almost 10 times more likely than non–First Peoples peers to be under community-based supervision and detention.[75]

The impact of racism on the continued over-representation of First Peoples children and young people in the child protection and justice systems is a critical issue.

The Yoorrook Justice Commission investigated and reported on the uneven use of police discretion against First Peoples.[76] In evidence before the Yoorrook Justice Commission, the Chief Commissioner of Police acknowledged that racist attitudes and discriminatory police actions against First Peoples have caused significant harm across generations.[77] The Chief Commissioner of Police identified the importance of addressing:

• systemic racism
• unconscious bias
• unequal use of discretionary powers in outcomes for First Peoples.

This is reflected in Victoria Police’s commitment to put in place 79 related reforms by 2025.[78]

At its worst, structural racism in the justice system can have devastating consequences for First Peoples – even leading to death. Since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, which tabled its final report in 1991, in Victoria there have been:

• 24 First Peoples deaths in the adult corrections system
• 10 First Peoples deaths in police custody and police operations.

This includes 6 First Peoples deaths since January 2020.[79]

The Victorian Ombudsman’s 2024 Investigation into healthcare provision for Aboriginal people in Victorian prisons report found that the current system is failing to meet the needs of First Peoples, who have more complex health needs than non–First Peoples.[80] First Peoples are more likely to be held in custody and continue to die in Victorian prisons at unacceptable rates.[81]

Some groups of multicultural young people also face unequal contact with the justice system, with over‑policing identified as a challenge.[82] A study based on the experiences of young people from Pasifika and South Sudanese backgrounds in Greater Dandenong and Casey between 2016 and 2018 found that pre-emptive and ‘risk-based’ policing tactics resulted in targeted monitoring and surveillance.[83] Uneven or biased use of discretionary powers (such as cautions or diversions) can also lead multicultural young people deeper into the justice system.[84]

The report Youth justice review and strategy: meeting needs and reducing offending identified that multicultural young people are:

• less aware of their legal rights
• less likely to get diversionary interventions.

This results in some multicultural young people being drawn further into the justice system.[85]

We don’t trust the system so we will try to avoid the system. Too often people of colour are influenced negatively by the justice system … So we avoid the system altogether if we can even [if] it might be a way to help us. Too often our experience with the justice system has been a negative experience. Once bitten then twice shy. Work needs to be done to heal the trauma systems have inflicted on people of colour to earn trust back.
– Survey respondent

The limited availability of free and appropriately qualified interpreter services to support CALD [culturally and linguistically diverse] people to negotiate the justice system is well known and has been raised in numerous inquiries and reviews. There is a direct link between language difficulties and miscarriages of justice … The importance of free, professional and appropriately skilled interpreter services for CALD people who need free legal services cannot be overstated.
– Written submission from the Peninsula Community Legal Centre