Aboriginal people with mental and cognitive disability – News, Research and Analysis – The Conversation

Early intervention and diversion away from the criminal justice system can enable Aboriginal people with mental and cognitive disabilities to live with dignity. AAP/Richard Ashen

November 5, 2015

Here’s how we can stop putting Aboriginal people with disabilities in prison

Elizabeth McEntyre, UNSW Sydney; Eileen Baldry, UNSW Sydney, and Ruth McCausland, UNSW Sydney

The predictable path into prison for Aboriginal people with disabilities is preventable. Here are some solutions.

Early support could save lives and allow Aboriginal people with mental and cognitive disability to live with dignity in their communities. Yasmeen/Flickr

November 4, 2015

Supporting, not imprisoning, Aboriginal people with disabilities could save millions

Ruth McCausland, UNSW Sydney

Aboriginal people with mental and cognitive disability are managed mostly by police, courts, prison and hospitals. It’s costing us millions, when kinder and cheaper alternatives exist.

Police often don’t recognise that someone has an intellectual disability or brain injury due to a lack of training in this area, researchers have heard. Brian Yap (葉)/flickr

November 3, 2015

Aboriginal people with disabilities get caught in a spiral of over-policing

Ruth McCausland, UNSW Sydney; Eileen Baldry, UNSW Sydney, and Elizabeth McEntyre, UNSW Sydney

Police have become the default frontline response to Aboriginal people with mental and cognitive disabilities, setting this group up for a lifetime of ‘management’ by the criminal justice system.

The needs of Aboriginal women with disabilities are not being met by any human service system, research shows. sidkid/flickr

November 2, 2015

How Aboriginal women with disabilities are set on a path into the criminal justice system

Elizabeth McEntyre, UNSW Sydney

Research suggests serious problems with the way Aboriginal women, particularly those with mental and cognitive disabilities, are “managed” by the criminal justice system.

Aboriginal people with mental and cognitive disability are ‘managed’ by police, courts and prisons due to a lack of appropriate community-based services. Kate Ausburn/flickr

November 1, 2015

Why Aboriginal people with disabilities crowd Australia’s prisons

Eileen Baldry, UNSW Sydney; Elizabeth McEntyre, UNSW Sydney, and Ruth McCausland, UNSW Sydney

Australia’s high rates of imprisonment and re-imprisonment of Aboriginal people with mental and cognitive disabilities is not only shameful, it is entirely predictable and preventable.

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