This journal article considers the ways Aboriginal people perceive targeted policing practices in Broken Hill and Wilcannia, New South Wales and the harm that targeted policing causes. It discusses how colonial legacies continue to impact contemporary policing and how police exercise discretion today. 

Adam Booker, 'Telling the untold: First Nations people’s perceptions of policing in Broken Hill and Wilcannia' (2026) 38(1) Current Issues in Criminal Justice 1

The law places limits on how police operate. Within those limits, police have a large amount of discretion about how they act. The way police use their discretion shapes people’s experiences with the criminal legal system and has been repeatedly linked to the over-representation of Aboriginal people in custody.

Document

Adam Booker, 'Telling the untold: First Nations people’s perceptions of policing in Broken Hill and Wilcannia' (2026) 38(1) Current Issues in Criminal Justice 1

Police discretion