As a palpable legacy of violent colonialism, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (‘Indigenous’) Australians are the most incarcerated peoples in the world. Community policing, which hinges on the development of trusting community–police partnerships, is frequently proposed as a means of reducing this over-representation, but approaches vary and produce divergent outcomes. This article draws on interview data to explore policing in Australia’s Torres Strait Region – a remote archipelago situated off the northern tip of Queensland. A strong commitment to community and hybridised policing approaches likely provide a partial explanation for relatively low crime in the region. However, under-reporting of some offences (e.g. domestic violence) suggests a possible need to overlay alternative approaches that improve access to justice for all victims, especially women. Overall, the Torres Strait Region experience holds possible lessons for policing in Australia’s other remote Indigenous communities, again demonstrating that decolonisation is a critical starting point for addressing over-representation.

作为暴力殖民主义的明显遗产，澳大利亚土著和托雷斯海峡岛民（“土著”）是世界上被监禁最多的民族。社区警务以减少社区代表人数过多的方式为代表，经常提出以建立信任的社区－警察伙伴关系为基础，但方法各不相同，并产生不同的结果。本文利用访谈数据探索澳大利亚的托雷斯海峡地区的治安情况。该地区位于昆士兰州北端，是一个偏远的群岛。对社区和混合警务方法的坚定承诺可能部分解释了该地区相对较低的犯罪率。但是，对某些犯罪行为（例如家庭暴力）的漏报表明，可能有必要覆盖其他方法，以改善所有受害者的诉诸司法的机会，尤其是女性。总体而言，托雷斯海峡地区的经验为澳大利亚其他偏远的土著社区的警务工作提供了可能的经验教训，再次证明了非殖民化是解决代表人数过多的关键起点。