A silly mistake at age 10 can have devastating and often permanent consequences for Aboriginal kids but raising the criminal age of responsibility could help save lives, experts say.
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When Bangerang and Wiradjuri elder Aunty Geraldine Atkinson was in year 6, her 10-year-old brother was taken into police custody on suspicion of minor theft.
He would later spend the next two decades in custody before his premature death at 36, a tragic story Ms Atkinson says is all too common in her community.
"That's the story of a child being removed at 10 years of age and then what their life trajectory is. This is what we want to stop," Ms Atkinson told the Yoorrook Justice Commission as part of an inquiry into Victoria's criminal justice and child protection systems on Tuesday.
She said raising the age of criminal responsibility in Victoria from 10 to 14 could also stop Aboriginal deaths in custody and lead to better overall community outcomes.
Children as young as 10 across Australia can be arrested, remanded in custody, convicted by courts and jailed, which has prompted a national campaign to raise the age.
Young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are vastly over-represented in the state's criminal justice system, which has led to renewed calls for urgent reform.
Indigenous children are nine times more likely to be in custody than their non-Indigenous peers, according to government data.
Ms Atkinson, who is co-chair of the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria, called for better government support services and for an independent police oversight committee to stop discriminatory practices.
Djirra chief executive Antoinette Braybrook, a proud Kuku Yalanji woman, said there was a link between out of home care and incarceration rates.
"No child belongs in prison, you just look at the path that leads the child on," she told the hearing.
"We know that there's a clear link between Aboriginal children being removed and being caught up in the child protection system, to then going on to youth justice and adult incarceration."
Changes to legislation, including public drunkenness laws and implementing holistic police reform, were among key recommendations to stop the over policing of Indigenous communities.
Additionally, introducing Aboriginal-controlled health services would significantly reduce deaths in custody, she said.
In an open letter posted on Thursday, Ms Atkinson urged the state government to listen to the evidence that children as young as 10 should not be in custody, writing "we need reform yesterday".
Last year, a landmark inquiry into the state's youth justice system found 70 per cent of Aboriginal children reported being racially abused and physically and sexually assaulted by police.
The truth-telling inquiry is the first of its kind in Australia, with its public hearings coming as Victoria embarks on a process towards treaty.
Australian Associated Press
