Abstract: Introduction: Aboriginal people across Australia are playing an increasing role in policing their own communities ... Established initially as 'Night Patrols' on remote communities across the Northern Territory, Aboriginal Patrols now operate in a diversity of remote, rural and urban areas of Australia ... Criminologists may find that some of their conceptual instruments, pre-packaged in the Euro-American criminological tool-kit, may be less useful in interrogating the meanings of these Indigenous initiatives in their totality. Driving these initiatives, we suggest, lie a number of dynamics, some of which do not fit into the currently configured crime control 'box'. Others, which are deeply rooted in the unique collective experiences of Australia's Indigenous people require a more nuanced and variegated analysis, combining criminological insight with a sensitivity to questions of post-colonial empowerment.