World news – « It is no wonder that Aboriginal youth are fleeing the police »: Professor calls for investigations into systemic racism

Systemic racism in the Washington police force fuels a broken relationship between officials and Aboriginal youth, claims an indigenous psychologist.

Pat Dudgeon, professor of indigenous studies at the University of Western Australia, gave a coronial investigation into the Death of two Aboriginal teenagers who drowned while trying to flee the police, evidence of police relations with indigenous youths as « not good ». ?.

Pat Dudgeon, professor of indigenous studies at the University of Western Australia, says the relationship between police and indigenous youth is « not good ». Inset: Master Simpson, Top, and Master Drage.

« It’s no wonder Aboriginal youth are fleeing the police because they know they are not okay, » She said

I know that there was little progress here and there, but there were no systemic changes down the line. I think racism is still an issue for us … there is personal racism and there is also systemic racism.

Master Drage, 16, and Master Simpson, 17? whose first name WAtoday did not publish at the request of their families ???? drowned around 3:30 p.m. on September 10, 2018, trying to cross a 100-meter stretch of river between Maylands and Rivervale, fully clothed and in harsh conditions.

The boys were part of a group of four teenagers led by two police officers after members of the public reported jumping fences in people’s backyards.

A coronal investigation into their death investigates whether police actions on that day caused or contributed to the tragedy.

The only boy who managed to describe his relationship with the police said the only boy who made it across the river safely, Witness N, said he didn’t think stopping and speaking to officers was an option .

The research found that intergenerational trauma, housing instability and difficulties in completing an education or in finding e The path to employment was the result of systemic racism within government institutions.

Professor Dudgeon said that the cadet police officers’ two-day cultural awareness training had to be completed during their studies and that the subsequent online refresher courses were insufficient to deal with the complex Understanding problems of many indigenous youths.

The danger is that [the training] is abstract in that you don’t sit down and talk to Aboriginal people … and how you would react in real situations is very different too something you read about and how you think you will act? She said.

If you have an unconscious tendency to think less of Aboriginal people, it will affect your interactions.

« It’s quite a profound change that has to take place when a person challenges himself and himself what racist views she may have. « 

A study by the Australian National University in mid-2020 found that three in four Australians had negative views and unconscious prejudice against Indigenous Australians.

The incarceration rates for Western Australians show that Indigenous people are 21 times more likely to go to jail.

The lawyer who represented the mothers of the two deceased boys, Anthony Crocker, said the effects of new trauma such as drowning only left the problems many faced exacerbated.

« The trauma that arises from incidents is very real in Aboriginal communities as children no longer go to school because of things » e r said.

â [??? The [12-year-old] sibling of one of the deceased boys has not been able to go to school since September 2018, and there is a feeling in the family that there is no one to help them. and help the child get back to school.

« This is a very real example of trauma that needs to be addressed by the appropriate resources, because if it is not addressed it only will even worse. » .ein ????

Professor Dudgeon recommended that an Aboriginal Children and Youth Commissioner be appointed to work with the Children and Youth Commissioner and that greater grassroots resources be devoted to indigenous-led reform and community programs .

You said the teenagers ???? Deaths could have been avoided if the recommendations of a 2017 report by the Legal Reform Commission, Pathways to Justice – ???? An investigation into the incarceration rate of Aboriginal and island residents of Torres Strait was conducted.

The report, commissioned by the federal government, aimed to reduce the disproportionate incarceration rate of indigenous peoples and improve the security of the population.

The Both officers who followed the youths on foot before the group entered the river were both junior police officers who had recently graduated from the police academy.

Constable Ella Cutler, 19 at the time of the incident, was unable to access any information that she was given during her culture awareness training during the investigation on Tuesday.

The Washington police have taken several initiatives to improve relations with the indigenous peoples, including participating in a broader one Training of cultural awareness and the offer, interested police officers with Fund diplomas for Aboriginal people.

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