ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on rural peoples, it is sometimes difficult to disentangle these two populations as there is often a migration between the two settings. Any description of policing Indigenous peoples must first acknowledge the long-term distrust that exists between these groups and the police in many jurisdictions. One common feature of working in rural Aboriginal communities is the lack of anonymity for the police officers or their families. In addition to disrupting their traditional ways of life, their political and economic structures were made obsolete and practicing their traditional cultural or religious practices were discouraged or outlawed. Parallel to patterns of police-reported crime in Canada and the US, crime rates for Indigenous persons are approximately six times higher than their non-Indigenous counterparts in Australia. Although Indigenous peoples account for a relatively small proportion of the national populations in these four countries, they are overrepresented in adult and youth justice systems.
