A report by a community-led inquiry into youth violence and crime has been delivered to both sides of the SA government, with local African leaders hoping it will create meaningful change.
The report, by the African Communities Council SA, was initiated on the day of the alleged murder of 25-year-old Ngor Bol in Adelaide's CBD.
The nine-month inquiry heard from community leaders and members, youth involved in the justice system, and service providers through focus groups and surveys.
African Communities Council SA chair Denis Yengi said the inquiry aimed to understand "the causes, the challenges, and the potential solutions to the problems that are contributing to this emergency of violence and anti-social behaviour that has been really done by very few members of our communities".
Rehabilitation psychologist and author of the report, Yilma Woldgabreal, said the majority of the migrant population from Africa were "doing very well", and only a "tiny minority" were experiencing "acculturation problems".
"The issue of youth crime is not [as] well entrenched as it might seem, as what we see on the media," he said.
Dr Woldgabreal said young people had identified a number of issues that contributed to their involvement in the criminal justice system such as intergenerational conflict, negative peer influence, and school environments that were "not well-equipped with how to deal with children that come from a traumatic background".
He said a combination of such issues could lead to young children developing "really bad coping mechanisms from early on", which could then lead to involvement with negative peer influences.
He said the majority of people involved in the inquiry who had been through the criminal justice system were young males.
"But their parents don't have any criminal record, so that means it's an early issue," he said.
"If addressed appropriately right now we can actually rectify the issue relatively easy. But if we leave it unaddressed at this point in time, it continues to become intergenerational then it becomes difficult."
The report made 39 recommendations including providing greater support for schools and families, such as the creation of community centres in Adelaide's northern suburbs.
Mr Yengi said he grew up understanding that "it takes a whole village to raise a child".
"My hope is that we can have a community centre based on the model of an African village," he said.
"This is where members of our communities can come and sit and talk about some of the issues, the opportunities for mentoring."
Mr Yengi said many families he had spoken to were surprised to hear about some of the issues that had been going on.
"To me really what is so striking is that all these people that we have spoken to, they came to this country with a dream for their children, and the dream is to have a better life," he said.
"Most of them were really very shocked to even hear that some of these young people outside their houses are actually involved in … some of these issues that some of their parents really have no idea about."
Arsene Iribuka, a youth leader who joined one of the inquiry's focus groups, said the actions of a very small group had had a "massive" impact on the broader South Australian African population, particularly in light of stereotypes formed after media reports.
"There is about 50 plus countries from Africa ... even within those countries, there are also sub-cultures within those countries," he said.
"So we come from a very diverse background, and I think that a nuanced view might be required when trying to understand some of these issues."
Mr Iribuka said he hoped the report's recommendations would be supported by the government and the wider community.
"And help us address some of the challenges we have, which might not be specific to just this community, but it's just that there's a heightened lens when it happens within a new certain group," he said.
The state government said it was considering its response.
