The Productivity Commission’s latest  Report on Government Services has found  the ACT government has failed to reduce the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander detainees

The report highlights that:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are now 20 times more likely to be in prison in the ACT than non-indigenous people

The figures have raised concerns within the ACT Council of Social Service.

 (ACTCOSS) acting CEO Dr Gemma Killen Campbell says  “The proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander detainees in the ACT has doubled in the last decade, with the highest ratio of incarceration and highest levels of recidivism in the country.

Doctor Campbell says “Plummeting levels of education and training for detainees have been an area of great concern to the community sector for years, pointing to a major failure of the ACT government to respond to need and prepare detainees for life after prison”.

Meantime,    The Australian Federal Police Association has called on the government to improve police numbers here in the ACT, following another damning productivity commission report.The report shows the Territory has the lowest police per capita, spend per capita for police, guilty convictions, magistrate court finalisations, and clearance rate for property crime in the country.

President Alex Caruana says just because a crime statistic isn’t ticked, doesn’t mean police haven’t had to reach a resolution.