A leading human rights lawyer is helping spearhead a Black Lives Matter-inspired campaign to help Aboriginal communities fight alleged police harassment, teaching people about how to film and share video of incidents.

Copwatch has been developed by the National Justice Project, as a response to reports and claims of "over-policing and police abuses in Aboriginal communities". The program aims to provide training on using mobile phone cameras to record alleged police indiscretions, harassment and violence in communities, with the plan to upload that footage to social media. Copwatch, to be delivered by lawyers and media professionals, would also provide legal training and advice to participants.

Indigenous imprisonment rates are far higher than that of the general population. The Bureau of Statistics reported that, as of June 30 last year, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait imprisonment rate was 2346 per 100,000 population, compared to 154 per 100,000 for the non-Indigenous population. Just this week, the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research reported a "25 per cent increase in Indigenous imprisonment in NSW since 2013". Indigenous advocates claim their communities come in for greater scrutiny from police than the general population, especially in rural areas.

"The Aboriginal and Torres Strait imprisonment rate... when age standardised, was 13 times greater than the age standardised imprisonment rate for non-Indigenous persons (2,039 compared to 163)," the ABS said.

Leading human rights lawyer George Newhouse told HuffPost Australia the Copwatch campaign was influenced by Black Lives Matter, an American movement which campaigns against violence toward African-American communities, which has also encouraged people in targeted communities to film their interactions with authorities. Several of these videos have gone viral and been used in criminal court cases, including perhaps most famously that of Philando Castile, whose shooting by police was captured on video and streamed on Facebook by his partner.

"What we're trying to achieve is more effective policing, safer Aboriginal communities that work functionally with their local police force, lower incarceration rates for Aboriginal people, and ultimately the ability of Aboriginal people to tell their own story," Newhouse said.

"Overseas experience shows both police and community members behave better when they're under scrutiny, full stop. We think there will be better behaviour all round, and that the relationship between police ad communities will improve. That may ultimately end up with lower incarceration rates."

Experts say it is impossible to put high Indigenous incarceration rates down to one specific factor, whether over-policing or higher rates of crime in those areas. Tanya Mitchell, a criminal law lecturer at the University of Sydney who has worked with Indigenous and rural legal services, says it is "the million dollar question" for researchers.

"There aren't any definitive answers, but an answer could be the combination of these things. Some communities may be impacted by the legacy of colonisation more than others. Over-policing is also a factor," she told HuffPost Australia.

"Getting an answer of which one or the other is the cause, is maybe not possible."

The Copwatch campaign is currently crowdfunding to raise $50,000 for equipment and training costs -- as of publication time, it has raised $23,000 in just a few days. Newhouse said the trigger for Copwatch was the death of teenager Elijah Doughty in Kalgoorlie last year. The 14-year-old was allegedly run down by a local motorist while riding a motorbike police believe was stolen, which led to violence and rioting in the town.

"We received a number of calls from community members after a riot that involved attacks on police vehicles and the local court house. We examined ways of releasing the tension and frustration the community was a feeling as a result of over-policing and discrimination in the town," Newhouse said.