Specialist prison to help Aboriginal youth

A NSW correctional centre is to become the first specialist prison to concentrate on rehabilitating Aboriginal inmates, who make up a quarter of the prison population.

Aboriginal men aged between 18 and 25 years will be given priority at Kariong Correctional Centre on the Central Coast from early next year.

The facility has been tasked with reducing reoffending rates among young Aboriginal inmates in a bid to tackle their over-representation in custody.

NSW Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Brad Hazzard announced the move on Tuesday.

"Aboriginal people represent only two per cent of the state's population but make up about one quarter of the prison population," he said.

"That's not good enough and this is intended as a major step towards making sure that when people leave prison they have the skills to successfully reintegrate into the community."

The centre will provide four-month courses for 50 young adult males with sentences of under two years.

The program will enlist the support of Aboriginal elders and other community members, and target literacy, numeracy, employment skills, substance abuse and driving skills.

Afterwards inmates will be moved to minimum security correctional centres to engage in vocational training.