Aboriginal communities and the police's Taskforce Themis

  Between January and June 2009 the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) and the Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Services (CAALAS) auspiced research into policing under the NTER (‘the Intervention’), in particular the establishment of 18 new police stations in Aboriginal communities. The findings of the research are primarily based on 331 surveys of Aboriginal people in 14 of the 18 communities, and around 70 interviews with elders, community representatives, police and other service providers in those communities. This data was supplemented with statistical data from the courts and from the police. Overall, 17% of respondents believed ‘everything’ in their communities had improved since the start of Themis; conversely 14% of respondents believed ‘nothing’ had improved. Problems that are visible in public spaces had improved the most; these were alcohol (46%) and community violence (45%); less visible crimes like marijuana use, sexual assault and stealing recorded less improvement. Overall, 75% of respondents wanted a permanent police presence and 53% believed the police were doing a good job (compared with 59% across the NT generally according to the NTPFES Annual Report 07/08). There was a slight decrease in positive feelings towards the police since the start of Themis. These figures hide very large differences between communities. For example, in some communities less than one fifth of people reported improvements in alcohol whereas 90% of people in other communities reported improvements. The proportion of people who believed that police were doing a good job ranged from 11% to 85%. People’s feelings about the police often underwent big changes, positive and negative, since the initial establishment of the stations. Nowhere did less than a majority want a continued police presence. What the research highlights is the massive differences in experience with the police between different locations. In different places, police worked in different ways, targeted different crimes (though with a general focus on ‘public’ offences like alcohol, and traffic offences), and had different levels and types of engagement with the community.   Image: Ewen Bell / Flick