Aboriginal Offender Rehabilitation Programs

This chapter highlights the ongoing over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the criminal justice system and emphasises an urgent need for the development of appropriate responses to this problem. A key response to this issue is through the provision of culturally secure, relevant and effective rehabilitation programs for Aboriginal people within the criminal justice system. This chapter proposes an Aboriginal psychological approach to the development, implementation and delivery of culture-specific rehabilitation programs to reduce re-offending and Aboriginal people’s contact with the criminal justice system. It will outline how such an approach, which is grounded in Aboriginal Law and culture, can also accommodate standard therapeutic techniques and approaches based on the ‘what works’ literature and the key principles for effective intervention outlined in the Risk, Needs and Responsivity Model.