Does indigeneity matter? Sentencing Indigenous offenders in South Australia’s Higher Courts

Abstract

In Australia, research investigating Indigenous differences in sentencing is limited. This study examines the impact of offenders’ Indigenous status on the decision to imprison and length of imprisonment in South Australia’s Higher Courts. Results indicate that Indigenous offenders were less likely than their non-Indigenous counterparts to be sentenced to a term of imprisonment when appearing before the court under similar circumstances. However, when sentence length was decided, Indigenous offenders were sentenced to longer periods of imprisonment. The theoretical implications of these research findings are explored including conflict and focal concerns (attribution) perspectives.