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Evidence from court and prison intake datasets shows high levels of unemployment, health conditions, literacy difficulties, self-harm, and exposure to head injuries. It synthesizes six interconnected policy directions aimed at improving justice outcomes and broader social wellbeing.",{"@graph":69,"@context":123},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-extent-and-nature-of-poverty-in-australia-submission-145-attachment-1/206181/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/the-extent-and-nature-of-poverty-in-australia-submission-145-attachment-1/206181.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Kyle","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-17","2026-09-05",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",14,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"Which factors are presented as consistently associated with pathways to crime and custody?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"The paper identifies trauma, low socio-economic circumstances, educational attainment, marginalisation, drug and/or alcohol misuse, homelessness, family violence, and racism as consistent factors linked to crime and custody pathways.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"What does the paper report about disadvantage among people appearing in NSW Local Courts?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"It reports very high rates of unemployment and financial stress, literacy and learning difficulties, housing instability, problematic gambling behaviour, substance abuse, and mental and physical health problems, with substantial proportions reporting reading or writing difficulties, insufficient income, and harmful alcohol use.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"What policy directions are proposed to address disadvantage in the criminal justice system?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"The paper outlines six interconnected approaches: addressing Indigenous over-representation (including Pathways to Justice recommendations), investing in community-based options over prison, raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility, supporting families to stay together, funding best-practice health/housing/education, and addressing sexual and family violence alongside the attitudes that produce it.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":125,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":62},206181,1788590298,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":140,"language":141,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":142,"faqs":143,"seo_title":144,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":130,"read_time":41,"preview_page_count":4},3985741905716,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_994ba38a5ba835b3df7d355c54d3ed8d","The extent and nature of poverty in Australia  \nSubmission 145-Attachment 1  \nThe intersection of disadvantage and the criminal justice system – and six  \nways to address this  \nLorana Bartels, Professor, Australian National University; Adjunct Professor, University of  \nCanberra and University of Tasmania  \nIt is well-established that trauma, lower socio-economic circumstances and educational attainment, marginalisation, drug and/or alcohol misuse, homelessness, family violence and racism are consistent factors associated with the pathways to crime and custody (Halsey 2008) . The evidence is clear not only about the extensive intersection between disadvantage and the criminal justice system, but some effective ways of addressing this. This paper highlights six interconnected ways to address such disadvantage: addressing the over-representation of Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice system, including through implementation of the recommendations of the Australian Law Reform Commission Pathways to Justice report; investing in community-based options, rather than prison; raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14; supporting families to stay together; providing adequate funding and support for best practice health, housing and education; and addressing sexual and family violence and the attitudes that give rise to such violence. The research on these issues is clear. What is required now is for politicians and policy-makers to act on this research to improve criminal justice outcomesand social wellbeing more generally.  \nKeywords: child welfare, crime prevention, disadvantage, health, social justice  \nIntroduction  \nI was recently asked to give a talk on ‘the intersection of disadvantage and the criminal justice system’. It is perhaps unfortunate that the data on this issue are so clear. A study by the New South Wales (NSW) Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) (Jones & Crawford 2007) found that, among 189 people appearing in one of two NSW Local Courts, there were very high rates of unemployment, financial stress, literacy and learning difficulties, housing instability, problematic gambling behaviour, substance abuse and mental and physical health problems. Notably, 21% of respondents reported that they had ‘difficulties reading or writing’, 24% said their income was insufficient to meet their basic needs, 23% admitted gambling had been a problem in the previous year, 54% showed signs of harmful alcohol use and 45% had received one or more blows to the head which had resulted in loss of consciousness. The authors suggested that the ‘high rates of each of these problems, coupled with the fact that most of these areas of criminogenic risk or disadvantage are not mutually exclusive, suggests that comprehensive rehabilitation programs may be appropriate court-based crime prevention interventions’ (2007:  \n1) .  \nElectronic copy available at: [https://ssrn.com/abstract=3492805](https://ssrn.com/abstract=3492805)  \nThe extent and nature of poverty in Australia  \nSubmission 145-Attachment 1  \nThe most recent report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) (2019c) on Australian prisoners’ health indicates that, among those entering prison:  \n• 29% reported a long-term health condition or disability that limited their daily activities and/or affected participation in education or employment;  \n• 22% tested positive to hepatitis C;  \n• 75% were current smokers;  \n• 65% had engaged in illicit drug use in the previous year;  \n• 40% had been told by a medical professional that they had a mental health disorder; and  \n• 21% reported self-harm.  \nMore broadly, the AIHW (2019c) found that 33% of prison entrants had only completed schooling up to Year 9 and 33 per cent were homeless and 54% were unemployed in the month leading up to their incarceration. Of those about to be discharged from prison, only 22% had organised paid employment to commence within two weeks of their release, while 78% were ","cbCaifRZLh6ZUg7k","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaifRZLh6ZUg7k","pdf",381503,12,"English","# Introduction\n# The extent and nature of poverty in Australia\n# What should we do to address disadvantage in the criminal justice system (and society)?\n## Address the over-representation of Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice system","[{\"question\":\"Which factors are presented as consistently associated with pathways to crime and custody?\",\"answer\":\"The paper identifies trauma, low socio-economic circumstances, educational attainment, marginalisation, drug and/or alcohol misuse, homelessness, family violence, and racism as consistent factors linked to crime and custody pathways.\"},{\"question\":\"What does the paper report about disadvantage among people appearing in NSW Local Courts?\",\"answer\":\"It reports very high rates of unemployment and financial stress, literacy and learning difficulties, housing instability, problematic gambling behaviour, substance abuse, and mental and physical health problems, with substantial proportions reporting reading or writing difficulties, insufficient income, and harmful alcohol use.\"},{\"question\":\"What policy directions are proposed to address disadvantage in the criminal justice system?\",\"answer\":\"The paper outlines six interconnected approaches: addressing Indigenous over-representation (including Pathways to Justice recommendations), investing in community-based options over prison, raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility, supporting families to stay together, funding best-practice health/housing/education, and addressing sexual and family violence alongside the attitudes that produce it.\"}]","The extent and nature of poverty in Australia - Submission 145 - Attachment 1 | PDF"]