In view of my reference to the late Ernie Bridge MLA and his concept for the Unity of the first People of Australia (UFPA) the following may interest readers.
The Goal of the UFPA
- The Unity of the First People of Australia is dedicated to preserving our Indigenous culture as a central and vital aspect of our National life and as a gift to our children and the World.
- It involves the respect and recognition of an ancient people, their heritage, the environment and cultural tradition.
Ernie Bridge, 1997
The Concept …
The UFPA Complete Communities Concept has been in development for the past five years.
The initiative was conceived by concerned Aboriginal people in conjunction with Aboriginal communities throughout the State and endorsed by senior figures in the State Government.
It was felt that a fresh approach to the problems being experienced by Indigenous people was required, for the area of Criminal Justice.
In 1991 the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, had highlighted this problem, by the rate at which Aboriginal people were being imprisoned and the resulting social and economic cost of this problem to the community in our State.
Issues that will be addressed by the UFPA Complete Communities plan include:
Health, Education, Housing, Land and Economic Development, Community Justice and Heritage and Culture.
Encouraging Development
How it works …
The UFPA Initiative encourages Aboriginal communities and their organisation’s to adopt a commercially focused approach to the design, planning and development as well as management and ownership of programmes and services.
It also covers local enterprise and economic development ventures.
The Offender Management Program will work through a joint venture arrangement between the UFPA and Aboriginal communities and organisations in partnership with Government and Local Governments, private sector and the wider community.
The programme’s primary aim is to achieve a rate of contact with the Criminal Justice System, commensurate with the rate (%) at which Aboriginal people are represented in the total population of Western Australia, ie approximately 3%
Currently, Aboriginal people represent around 65% of the prison population in Western Australia, which is a National disgrace!
How it works …
A fee for service agreement will be negotiated with the State Government based on communities being paid (1/2) the current cost to Government, of keeping a person in prison which is approximately $63,000 per annum for adults and $90,000 for juveniles.
The examples set out below, show how the cost is distributed in terms of the amount the communities will be paid, for providing supervision and support to offenders and the amount the Government will save.
For example:
The community would be paid approximately $31,500 per year for (1) offender under the community work and support project plan (or approximately $600 a week).
An offender would complete community work at 6 hours per day X 5 days (1 week) at the rate of $100 per day ($500 a week).
The extra $100 would go towards the cost of after-hours monitoring and support of an offender undergoing the community work and support project.
Cost Savings …
$31,500 a year for one offender.
$315,000 a year for ten (10) offenders. Recommended for each community project.
The cost associated with juveniles completing UFPA community work and support, will be calculated in the same manner and determined by the annual cost of detaining a juvenile.
Cost savings to Government
will be the same as that shown earlier, that is half (1/2) of the current annual costs of adult imprisonment, approximately,
($63,000) and juvenile detention at approximately ($90,000)
The UFPA will facilitate the negotiations and agreement’s process and negotiate with joint venture communities as to the fees to cover UFPA’s facilitation, brokering and programme support role.
Community Rehabilitation
Target Groups …
The target groups for the Offender Management Programme will include; fine defaulters and offenders sentenced to imprisonment for periods between 3 months and one (1) day and 12 months, while making provisions for community bail and the re-entry of those who have completed their sentences.
The UFPA proposes that these offenders would more appropriately and effectively, serve out their sentences or bail conditions within the care and strict supervision of community members, family and elders.
Through the improved community resource of Offender Management with early prevention and rehabilitation programmes the overall aim of reducing the cycle of offending and anti-social behavior will be met.
Community Frontline Action Management
for remote communities …
Project Administration and Project Management/Operations Community Council:
Supervisors – X 2
Community Patrollers – X 2+
Security Officer/
Team Leader – X 1
Justice of the Peace
Court Officer X 1
Mediation Panel
Community Elder X 1
Supervisors, Community Patrollers, and Security Officers may also be appointed Special Constables to enforce by-laws under the Aboriginal Communities Act.
The Community Council may also conduct the mediation role when dealing with offenders.
for Urban or Local Government areas …
Project Management and Operations –
Community organisation/Committee:
Supervisors – X 2
Community Patrollers X 5+
Security Officer/
Team Leader – X 1
Estimated Costs of Operations
$
Income – 315,000
CDEP Contributions for Staff wages 80,000
Wages – Supervisors – X 2 60.000
Wages – Patrollers – X 5 125,000
Wages Security Officer (Team Leader) X 1 40,000
Operating costs – 40,000
Staff – X 8 265,000
Total costs – 530,000
Project provisioning required, (12 months) – 135,000
Compared to cost of keeping 10 adult prisoners for 12 months – $630,000
Each Supervisor will be required to supervise 5 offenders two (2) Supervisors for (10) offenders.
Patrollers would carry out street patrols and general security surveillance focusing on known trouble spots and those persons who may be at risk of harm or arrest or truancy from school.
In remote communities which have by-laws under the Aboriginal communities Act, all or some members of the front-line action group may be appointed Special Constables to enforce the by-laws.
7 Year Plan… Savings for the State
In a recent paper titled Aboriginal Community Justice, one of the suggested developments and implementation schedules pointed out that with 16 projects operating throughout the State, 1900 short term prisoners would be removed from the imprisonment cycle (now almost 50%) on a permanent basis. this concentration of effort would have the effect of reducing Aboriginal contact with the Criminal Justice System and the reduction of the daily average Aboriginal prison population (now 33.8% and increasing).
Cost savings to Government over the 7year plan would be in the order of $45,000,000.
Community: what is required…
Action
The ‘top – down’ approach to Aboriginal affairs in remote and urban communities, does not work!
This fact is evidenced by the rate of incarceration of Indigenous people and the social problems for families because of this.
The UFPA Offender Management Process
Phase 1 is the first step in empowering Aboriginal people to manage their own multitude of social problems created.
As demonstrated, the cost saving of the process to Government is substantial, however the social cost saving of the initiative to indigenous people is incalculable.
Not only will the rate of imprisonment of Aboriginal people decrease, thereby taking pressure off an already overcrowded prison system, young Aboriginal offenders will not be brought into contact with hardened criminals.
The management structure of the Offender Management Project will also ensure that community service agencies are consulted and utilized to provide maximum benefits to Aboriginal families in the country or urban locations.
Phase 1 of this project clearly identifies where we should start.
The initiative itself by creating employment opportunities and career paths for people in remote and urban areas, while the future aims of the UFPA’s Community Development Program, provide exciting possibilities for the future.
Register Your Support …
This document has been prepared to advise you of the UFPA initiative and the benefits it offers Western Australians.
Thank you for the time you have taken to read it.
More information is available regarding our activities should you require it.
We trust you will become involved in this great initiative in some way and contribute towards solving some of the problems faced by Aboriginal people today.
To express your interest and endorsement of this project, please fill in the ‘Support Slip’ provided and return it to the UFPA PO Box
xxxxxxx Bentley W.A. 6102. or contact John Bridge of Aboriginal Management & Development Services who is the Project Coordinator: (08) 9362 3141.
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