🔗 Share this article

The tally of Indigenous people dying while in custody in Australia has hit its peak point since official data began in 1980.

Fresh data show that 33 of the 113 individuals who died in detention in the 12-month period leading up to June were of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. This represents an increase from 24 fatalities in the previous equivalent period.

Indigenous Australian people are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system. They constitute more than one-third of all prisoners, despite comprising less than four per cent of the national population.

These sobering figures emerge more than three decades after a seminal royal commission into Indigenous deaths in custody, which put forward numerous of recommendations.

Detailed Analysis of the Recent Figures

Of the 33 Aboriginal deaths in custody logged between last July and this June, twenty-six took place while in prison custody, which is an increase from 18 in the prior year.

A single death was in youth detention, and the vast majority of the deceased were men.

The other six fatalities took place in the custody of law enforcement, defined as when someone passes away while police are holding or attempting to detain them.

The main reason of Indigenous deaths was categorised as "self-inflicted," followed by "illness." The report noted that asphyxiation was the method in eight of the deaths.

State-by-State Breakdown

The Australian state of New South Wales had the highest number of Indigenous deaths in correctional facilities with nine, then Western Australia with six. Queensland, South Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory all recorded three deaths.

The increasing number of First Nations deaths in custody in New South Wales is a "deeply distressing milestone," the state's chief medical examiner has stated.

In a recent statement, Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan stressed that this upward pattern was not "mere statistics" and that these deaths demanded "thorough and careful scrutiny, respect and accountability."

Demographic Information and Academic Reaction

The mean age of those who died was 45, and eleven of the deceased were awaiting a sentence.

A university expert, Amanda Porter, characterised the figures as representing a "national crisis" that requires "decisive action and government action."

Ms. Porter, who has attended several official inquiries with bereaved families, said little has improved since the 1991's royal commission that was established to tackle this issue.

"It's maddening to see the quantity of inquests I attend, the number memorials families have to attend, and the reality that we are 30 years past the inquiry, and the situation is getting progressively more severe," she noted.

Since the landmark inquiry, a approximately 600 Indigenous people have died in custody, which encompasses six in youth detention, as per the findings.