Young indigenous males, custody and the rites of passage

Abstract

This paper examines the concept of incarceration as an alternative "rite of passage" for young Indigenous males. The study was based on a series of interviews with young Indigenous offenders in the Northern Territory. The findings suggest that the concept of incarceration as a rite of passage needs to be substantially reconfigured. While imprisonment can certainly serve as a testing ground for young Indigenous males, it does not replace traditional rites of passage in remote communities, and needs to be recognised as a phase in criminal trajectories characterised by a lack of access to basic social resources.