Criminology Research Council grant ; (2/85)
The death of Roebourne Aboriginal, John Pat, in police custody in 1983 focused public attention on what has been a history of substantial conflict in the Pilbara region. This event was the major impetus for the research.
A qualitative study of Aboriginal and police definitions of the situation and their perceptions of one another was conducted. Aboriginal residents of the Pilbara communities of Roebourne and Jigalong participated in the research, as did police and Aboriginal police aides from stations connected with these groups. An Aboriginal researcher conducted the interviews.
The central objective of this action research project was to contribute towards improved Aboriginal/police and community relations in the Pilbara. This was approached on two levels. First, questions in the symbolic interactionist framework enabled misconceptions and conflicts between the two groups to be identified. Interview schedules were designed to ascertain Aboriginal and police perceptions of the nature and seriousness of negative relations between them, the determinants of such relations, and ways to improve them. The data then formed the basis for suggestions for reform.
Second, the research process itself was designed to produce side effects that might promote better Aboriginal/police relations. During the fieldwork period the Aboriginal researcher was able to liaise between Pilbara Aborigines and police, thereby making a direct contribution to improved working relationships. In the course of the research, areas of concern, such as the problematic relationship between police and Aboriginal juveniles, became apparent. On the basis of such information, steps were taken by both groups towards reform.
The research looked at sources of conflict between Aborigines and police in a variety of areas. The Aboriginal Legal Service was criticised by police for its perceived anti-police bias, although more than half the police (and three quarters of the Aboriginal respondents) believed the ALS provided a necessary service to Aborigines.
The Aboriginal police aides scheme was a further source of contention. Most police supported the scheme as it currently operates and were unaware of the level of dissatisfaction with the scheme that the Aboriginal respondents demonstrated.
Questions on women's issues revealed the need for women to function as a care-giving, non-coercive link between male police officers and female Aboriginal offenders. Police, who considered their behaviour towards females to be beyond reproach, were criticised by Aborigines for failing to recognise and appreciate cultural differences in respect of sex roles.
The decriminalisation of drunkenness was canvassed as a possible means of decreasing the potential for conflict between Aborigines and police. While many Aborigines supported such a move, their primary concern was in the human, rather than statistical dimension-for the victims of alcohol abuse, rather than for the lowering of Aboriginal imprisonment rates. Police did not support this idea.
The selection and socialisation of police was an area where police themselves saw reform as desirable. They said that selection procedures should be improved so that only officers suited to working with Aborigines were sent to the Pilbara. More knowledge of Aboriginal culture and the history of race relations in the local context were also seen as measures which might benefit police working with Aborigines, and hence improve relations.
The report concludes with 27 suggestions for reform, most of which have specifically local application.