An Appreciative Assessment of Prison Quality for Australian First Peoples of the Kimberley Region in Western Australia

Abstract

In an attempt to understand the meaning of prison quality for Australian First Peoples, this paper examines the aspects of prison considered to be positive and negative for First Peoples serving sentences of imprisonment in the Kimberley Region in Western Australia. The meaning of prison quality as experienced by First Peoples is compared with the meaning of prison quality as defined by an existing measure of the quality of prison life. Through a qualitative analysis of interviews with 28 prisoners and staff members from West Kimberley Regional Prison and Broome Regional Prison, seven key aspects of prison as experienced by First Peoples are identified. Six of these key aspects, respect/courtesy, staff-prisoner relationships, bureaucratic legitimacy, fairness, family contact, and personal development, are consistent with dimensions previously identified as pertaining to the quality of prison life. An additional culture/traditions dimension was also identified. The findings show that the differences between prison quality as experienced by First Peoples and non-Indigenous peoples are influenced by aspects relevant to the culture and traditions of First Peoples. The authors highlight the importance of considering culture and traditions in understanding the meaning of prison quality for First Peoples.

Using A Culturally Safe Creative Writing Programme to Empower and Heal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Men in Prison

“…Imprisonment fails to deter Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from reoffending and it fails to deliver rehabilitative programmes that ‘work’ (Molnar, Rynne and Webster 2018). Incarcerating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, instead, perpetuates the management, subordination, and control of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lives, further entrenching the transgenerational grief and trauma that is a product of colonisation.…”