NSW police pursue 80% of Indigenous people caught with cannabis through courts
Data shows hugely disproportionate treatment, which experts say helps trap young Aboriginal people in the criminal justice system
The Guardian (UK)
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
Police in New South Wales pursue more than 80% of Indigenous people found with small amounts of cannabis through the courts while letting others off with warnings, forcing young Aboriginal people into a criminal justice system that legal experts say “they will potentially never get out of”. Between 2013 and 2017 the police disproportionately used the justice system to prosecute Indigenous people, despite the existence of a specific cautioning scheme introduced to keep minor drug offences out of the courts. During the five year period, 82.55% of all Indigenous people found with a non-indictable quantity of cannabis were pursued through the courts, compared with only 52.29% for the non-Indigenous population.
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