Assessing the influence of "standard" and "culturally specific" risk factors on the prevalence and frequency of offending: The case of Indigenous Australians

Abstract

This is an empirical study which uses a multifactorial risk framework to investigate the factors that influence the prevalence and frequency of offending by indigenous Australians (as measured through self-reported arrest rates). The study uses regression modeling of data from the 2002 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey to estimate the effects of a range of individual, family, and community factors on indigenous arrest rates. The study considers a range of explanatory factors and includes both ‘‘standard’’ and ‘‘culturally specific’’ influences. Drawing upon the works of Homel, Lynch, and Herd, Broadhurst, and other Australian researchers, the study investigates the influence of multiple risk factors (including factors such as cultural strength and connection to community) and assesses whether these play a part in explaining the interaction between the indigenous population and the Australian criminal justice system.