A senior academic says last night's riot in Redfern shows relations between police and the Aboriginal community remain volatile, despite years of State Government policy work.

Associate Professor Chris Cuneen from Sydney University's Law School and author of a 1990s report called Policing in Redfern says there have been a number of plans to improve relations.

He says while there may have some success with the community living in the block, there is ongoing tension with the broader local community in nearby areas.

"Clearly there's an ongoing level of antagonism which is underlying the riot or conflict that occurred irrespective of whether the police were involved in the death of the young boy or not," he said.

"There's enough antagonism in the community in relation to the police for people to believe they were involved in it."