Liquor, law and community: an evaluation of local responses to alcohol misuse and related offending in a remote Kimberley town

Abstract

The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody recognised the benefits of community-based initiatives in improving Aboriginal people’s contact with the legal system in addition to providing a means for increased empowerment. Greater community involvement in the initiation of prevention strategies has the potential to result in more effective and sustainable initiatives as well as affording local Aboriginal people greater control over many social and economic aspects of their lives. This study examines one such community-based initiative that resulted in restrictions to the sale of alcohol in the remote, predominately Aboriginal town of Halls Creek in Western Australia. Analysing statistical and interview data the study explores the impact of the local initiative on the rates of alcohol-related offending, harm and intoxication in addition to considering local people’s experience of the initiative and the reality of the notion of “community-based” in the Halls Creek context.