Get out of jail free card..

[Gob]

ABORIGINAL criminals should have short prison terms automatically suspended or converted to community service or rehab programs, and their culture and disadvantage should be considered in mitigation during sentencing, the Bar Association has proposed.

The proposal, based on a call by District Court Judge Stephen Norrish for affirmative action in the courts, is contained in the association's criminal justice reform submission, released yesterday. It also calls for reform in dealing with mentally ill offenders and the introduction of sentence indication hearings.

Last year, Aborigines made up nearly 29 per cent of prison inmates in NSW, yet accounted for just over 2 per cent of the population. The number of Aboriginal prisoners in NSW rose 48 per cent from 2001 to 2008.

Advertisement: Story continues below Judge Norrish said in a paper to a recent justice reform conference: ''Unless acts of 'affirmative action' … are formally recognised, not only will the disproportionate number of Aboriginal people in the criminal justice system continue, but it will increase, to this nation's greater shame.''

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/call-to-cut-a ... 18vi5.html

[SisterMaryFellatio]

Mebbe they should cut down on the goon and stop swinging from trees, abusing their kids and the system thats trying to help them!

[dgs49]

Believe it or not, we have, kind of, a similar situation in the U.S.

The operative question becomes: Are these "minority" folks disproportionately represented among the "clients" of the criminal justice system because they are, indeed, breaking the laws and causing mayhem in great disproportion to their numbers, or is the system "fixed" to victimize them?

Just because the numbers are astounding doesn't mean they are unfairly victimized.

Closer scrutiny is required.