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| Police Aboriginal Strategic Advisory Board | |
|---|---|
| Name | Police Aboriginal Strategic Advisory Board |
| Type | Advisory body |
| Founded | 20th century |
| Headquarters | Various Australian jurisdictions |
| Region served | Australia |
| Membership | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders, police representatives, community advocates |
| Leader title | Chair |
Police Aboriginal Strategic Advisory Board The Police Aboriginal Strategic Advisory Board is an advisory body established to guide Australian Federal Police and state police forces such as the New South Wales Police Force, Victoria Police, Queensland Police Service, Western Australia Police Force, South Australia Police, and the Northern Territory Police on engagement with Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders. Its remit spans relations with communities like the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara, Gunggari, Yolŋu, and Noongar nations and interfaces with institutions such as the Australian Human Rights Commission, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, and state-based Department of Aboriginal Affairs agencies. The board operates alongside bodies including the Australian Institute of Criminology, the Australian Law Reform Commission, and local justice mechanisms like Community Justice Groups and Night Patrol services.
The board emerged amid reform movements following inquiries including the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and reviews by the Human Rights Commission and state coronial inquiries into deaths in custody, alongside policy shifts driven by the Council of Australian Governments and the Closing the Gap framework. Early prototypes drew on models from Indigenous advisory bodies such as the National Congress of Australia's First Peoples and state Aboriginal advisory councils established under acts like the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 and the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976. Its development involved collaborations with legal entities including the Magistrates' Court of Victoria and the High Court of Australia in matters concerning policing powers and native title intersections with policing practice.
Membership typically combines elders and representatives from nations such as Wiradjuri, Koori, Kamu, Palawa, and Gamilaraay with senior officers from police services including the Police Federation of Australia and executive members from the Australian Institute of Police Management. Chairs have sometimes been drawn from prominent leaders associated with organisations like the Aboriginal Legal Service and the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation. Advisory panels within the board reflect portfolios linked to entities such as the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, and state multicultural commissions. Appointment processes reference statutes, protocols used by the Victorian Ombudsman and terms similar to those in Native Title Act 1993 consultative arrangements.
The board advises on culturally appropriate policing strategies, liaising with service providers including the Royal Flying Doctor Service for remote outreach, Indigenous health services like Boorndawan Willam Aboriginal Healing Service, and legal advocates from the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) and Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service. It develops guidance aligned with standards set by the Australian Standards (AS) and contributes to training curricula used by institutions such as the Australian Graduate School of Policing and university law schools at the University of Sydney and Australian National University. The board also recommends policy shifts responsive to findings from bodies like the Australian Crime Commission and integrates cultural protocols recognized by land councils such as the Central Land Council.
Boards have influenced policies including diversion programs inspired by models like the Circle Sentencing initiative and partnerships with programs such as Headspace and the Youth Off The Streets outreach. They have contributed to recruitment drives mirroring campaigns by the Australian Defence Force and retention strategies promoted by the Public Service Commission to increase Indigenous representation in police workforces. Policy inputs have shaped memoranda of understanding with organisations including the Office of Aboriginal Affairs and litigation strategies considered by the Legal Aid Commission in cases concerning use-of-force standards and custodial care.
Operational activities encompass community consultations in remote regions like the Tiwi Islands, urban outreach in precincts such as Redfern, joint patrol protocol reviews with the Aboriginal Community Police Officer programs, and co-design of cultural safety training delivered in partnership with universities including Monash University and Curtin University. The board runs forums with stakeholders like the National Indigenous Australians Agency, organizes conferences alongside the Australasian Council of Women and Policing, and participates in incident review panels used by state police internal affairs units and independent oversight bodies such as the Independent Commission Against Corruption (New South Wales).
Critics have raised concerns similar to those aired against advisory arrangements like the National Indigenous Advisory Committee and have cited perceived tokenism, limited statutory powers compared to royal commissions, and tensions over confidentiality when interfacing with prosecutorial bodies such as the Director of Public Prosecutions. Controversies have emerged in contexts paralleling disputes involving the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner and debates over policing models in inquiries resembling the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. Activists from groups linked to Black Lives Matter Australia and community organisations including the Blak Movement have sometimes called for stronger accountability mechanisms than those the board supplies.
Evaluations reference metrics used by the Productivity Commission, reports from the Australian Institute of Criminology, and outcome reviews similar to those informing the Closing the Gap targets. Positive impacts cited include improved community liaison in areas documented by state ombudsmen and contributions to reductions in repeat contact cited by local crime prevention units and magistrates in specialized courts such as the Koori Court (Victoria). Ongoing assessment involves partnerships with research centres like the Lowitja Institute and reviews by parliamentary committees such as the Joint Standing Committee on Law Enforcement to measure effectiveness against benchmarks established by national reconciliation frameworks and human rights instruments.
Category:Indigenous Australian organisations Category:Law enforcement in Australia