State and territory governments have been urged by their own officials to overhaul bail laws to help reduce the climbing incarceration rates of Indigenous people and meet key Closing the Gap targets.
But they are unlikely to heed the advice, which is at odds with popular tough-on-crime measures introduced by jurisdictions in recent years.
Officials from every state and territory government were part of the working group which has delivered a report recommending imprisonment should be a last resort.
Alleged offenders should not be remanded for crimes unlikely to result in a custodial sentence, the report commissioned by the Standing Council of Attorneys-General said.
It calls for states and territories to remove standalone bail offences and include a presumption in favour of bail for

Central Western Daily

ABC News Canberra
Nine News
Australia News
AlterNet
The Hill Politics
Associated Press US News
The Texas Tribune Crime
ESPN Soccer