The missing mobile: impacts from the incarceration of Indigenous Australians from remote communities

摘要

In Australia, the numbers and rates of Indigenous incarcerations continue their long-term increase, particularly in the Northern Territory where a third of the population are Indigenous. In this paper, we provide theoretical discourse on incarceration as a form of mobility and demonstrate the demographic scale of impacts for small and remote communities using indirect estimation methods. Results reveal significant proportions, especially those aged 20-39 years, may be missing and mobile through incarceration. Overlaid onto pre-existing high population churn, effects on immobile community members contribute to intergenerational demographic, social and economic dysfunction and point to the need for innovative solutions.