Blog: How can we support young Aboriginal people in Alice Springs to stay out of trouble and on the right track?
Northern Australia is no stranger to headlines about youth crime rates but in the past few months, youth crime in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) has received renewed attention. In November last year, Local Arrente Elder and advocate Pat Ansell Dodds shared her insight into what’s really going on for young Aboriginal people causing trouble and breaking the law, and how we might provide them with the support they need and deserve.
There’s a much bigger picture behind youth crime in Alice Springs.
Pat says that part of that picture is the traumatic and ongoing effects of colonisation, including the defunding of remote homeland communities which forced Aboriginal off their Country and into larger centres such as Alice Springs.
“It’s like closing down towns right across Australia, not giving them funding, and it’s affecting our people… the biggest purpose we have in our lives [is] going back home to our Country,” Pat says.
Pat is a member of the Strong Grandmothers’ Group, a night patrol group that helps keep kids off the streets and out of trouble with police. She and her fellow grandmothers meet young people wandering around at night, and give them food, a talking to, a listening ear, and a lift home.
“When you're a kid and you’re somewhere and you don't want to be there, you get angry and go stupid. And I've seen that happen so much…
You gotta talk to them, properly. Don’t get angry, it makes it worse… And giving them something, for instance, food and stuff, is really good…That’s mainly what they look for.”
Pat is also involved with Jesuit Social Services’ Youth Justice Group Conferencing program – a restorative justice program which supports young people in trouble with the law to understand the impact of their actions and repair harm caused. Pat helps young Aboriginal people in the program to understand that they’re living on somebody else’s Country – Arrernte Country, and they need to respect that.
“When they come here they gotta behave... It's not just white man’s town, it's more than that. It's Central Arrernte country. And that's what our old people told us, doesn't matter where you go, you can go all of the Territory, all over Australia, but you gotta respect the people when you go there.”
Young people causing trouble and breaking the law in Northern Territory need understanding and empathy, but Pat says these Aboriginal children are often treated like adults.
“There might be things in their life that’s happened that's made them very angry…
The police should [learn] from them (Aboriginal) fellas that did night patrol… walk[ed] down the street to calm these kids down. We need more of that. Not police, picking them up and throwing them in detention centers. That’s going to affect them for the rest of their life.”
She calls for support for Aboriginal people to live on Country, in their homelands.
“We need support for the kids, for communities, so they can go back home. We need people to understand; not be racist about our people…
Australia walks around with no eyes, especially white people. They don't want to know anything. And they blame Aboriginal people all the time. There's a bigger picture. It has to stop.
We got every right to be treated like proper people in this country. People got every right to go back to their homeland and teach their children their own culture and things like that.”
This conversation is adapted from the Worth A Second Chance podcast.