Page 295 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 9 February 2021
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ACT Corrective Services has commenced the development of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander offender framework, which will outline best practice principles to assist operational staff in working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in custody and under community supervision. The framework will also provide mechanisms to improve social outcomes both during and after incarceration. The framework is due to be completed and launched in mid-2021.
As a precursor to this framework, ACT Corrective Services has developed an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy statement that supports the distinct cultural and other rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to maintain, protect and develop their cultural heritage, language, knowledge and kinship ties under the Human Rights Act 2004.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander detainees at the AMC are able to access programs, services, and education available to the general AMC population, as well as culturally safe programs and services specific to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The AMC has an Indigenous Services Unit which consists of four staff members, including a female Indigenous liaison officer. Indigenous liaison officers provide information on assessing cultural support, community elders, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural programs. They can also assist in maintaining connections through acting as a contact point for family and kinship supports in the community.
ACT Corrective Services recognises that culturally appropriate support, activities and events are critical elements to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander detainees to succeed in rehabilitation. In 2020 the newly appointed female Indigenous liaison officer coordinated Indigenous detainee art programs and other community initiatives, including the AMC Indigenous detainee art catalogue. A visual art exhibition, Totems, was held, which included 40 detainee artworks selected from this catalogue. The exhibition showcased the connection each artist had to their totem animal, to the spirits of creation and to their traditional lands. This exhibition builds on the successful ACT Corrective Services annual Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander detainee art exhibition, which has been running since 2013 and provides a source of income for Indigenous detainees in custody.
The Indigenous Services Unit has identified opportunities for new programs that provide enhanced interaction between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander detainees at the AMC, and between female Indigenous detainees and their children in the community. These opportunities will focus on strengthening identity, connection to culture, and resilience as a family unit.
The Elders Family Engagement Program commenced in December 2020 and will be offered on a quarterly basis—March, June, September, December—at the AMC for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander detainees who have extended family members in ACT Corrective Services custody. The engagements will be held in a social lunch setting and include community elders to direct the conversation toward important topics of culture, country and community, which are intrinsic to the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
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