One-third of Aborigines arrested

Aboriginal males have a life expectancy of just 55 years

By CNN's Grant Holloway

SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Nearly one third of the Aboriginal men in Australia has been arrested in the past five years, a new crime study shows.

The study, released Monday, was undertaken by the state of New South Wales's Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research and by the Australian National University.

Youths aged between 18 and 24 had the highest incidence of arrest, with alcohol consumption a key factor in the likelihood of arrest in most age groups.

"Indigenous Australians who are unemployed, drink alcohol or have been physically attacked or verbally threatened are much more likely to be arrested by police compared with other indigenous Australians who are employed or do not drink alcohol or have not been physically attacked or verbally threatened," the report says.

"Other significant factors which increased the risk of indigenous arrest included being a male, living in a crowded household, being taken away from your natural family as a child, having had only a limited school education and sharing a house with other people who have been arrested," it says.

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Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders make up 300,000 of Australia's 18 million population but are significantly over-represented in crime statistics.

They also suffer disproportionately poorer health, die far sooner than non-Aborigines and have lower incomes and educational achievement.

The average age of death for an Aboriginal male is just 55, compared with 75 for non-Aboriginal Australian men.

A report released last week by Australia's Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission showed Aborigines bore the brunt of systematic and ingrained racism within Australian society.

Commenting on the crime study the director of the bureau, Dr Don Weatherburn, said that it highlighted the need to tackle the underlying causes of crime in indigenous communities.

"Indigenous over-representation in the criminal justice system is in large measure a reflection of crime and social dysfunction within indigenous communities," Weatherburn said.

"That, in turn, is a direct result of the social and economic disadvantage and alcohol abuse so characteristic of many of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

"If we want to reduce Indigenous over-representation in the criminal justice system we need to create jobs for Aboriginal people, improve educational outcomes for Aboriginal children and help Aboriginal communities overcome the problem of alcohol abuse," he said.