ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the connected issues of police discretion and police culture. It seeks to establish whether routine decision-making by police is invariably to the detriment of Indigenous people, and to examine the factors which might explain adverse decision-making. The chapter considers how police utilize discretion in relation to Indigenous people and examines decision-making in regard to young people as a specific example. A focus on police decision-making with young people helps to understand how police discretion can work to the disadvantage of Indigenous people. In general, the level of police discretion is far greater when dealing with youth than it is when dealing with adults. Where a police officer decides that a warning is not appropriate, he or she may decide that issuing a formal caution to the young person is the best method of proceeding. ‘Family group conferencing’ has become a favoured option for diversion of young people from the courts in recent years.
