Throughcare for Indigenous Peoples Leaving Prison

Abstract

The concept of throughcare for Indigenous peoples leaving prison has attracted a lot of attention in Australia over the last couple of years. The reason for this is the ongoing overrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the criminal justice system and, more particularly, in prison. Recent approaches to address this overrepresentation are focusing on the back end of the criminal justice process, investigating reintegration needs after release to prevent reoffending. This is particularly the case for Indigenous peoples as we know that high recidivism rates are one of the main drivers for overrepresentation in prison. In this contribution, I want to provide an overview of recent throughcare related government reports, academic research and publications, as a guide to new information now available. In the discussion, I am looking for convergences and divergences and recommendations for the way forward.