The Wire

In 1999 the NSW Government set up the first Correctional Facility exclusively for Indigenous prisoners, in the hope that it will reduce crime and re-offending within the Aboriginal community. Since then, the program has been extended into a number of other prisons across the state, and with much success – the largest being the Yetta Dhinnakkal in Northern NSW. But now the program is being criticised for the limited the number of Indigenous prisoners who are given the opportunity to participate. Chris Cunneen, Professor in Criminology at the University of NSW, will be presenting at a seminar in Sydney tomorrow to examine the progress of the program. He discussed with The Wire how successful the program has been so far.