🔗 Share this article

The tally of First Nations people dying while in detention in Australia has hit its record point since official data began in 1980.

New data indicate that 33 of the 113 people who passed away in custody in the 12-month period leading up to June have been identified as Indigenous. This marks an increase from 24 fatalities in the prior corresponding period.

Indigenous Australian people are disproportionately overrepresented in the criminal justice system. They make up over 33% of all incarcerated individuals, despite representing less than four per cent of the national people.

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

Breakdown of the Recent Figures

Of the 33 Indigenous deaths in custody recorded between last July and this June, 26 took place while in prison custody, which is an increase from 18 in the prior year.

One death was in youth detention, and the vast majority of the deceased were male.

The other six fatalities happened in police custody, defined as a situation where someone dies while police are holding or attempting to detain them.

The main reason of First Nations deaths was classified as "self-inflicted," followed by "natural causes." The data found that hanging was the cause in eight of the deaths.

Geographic Breakdown

The state of New South Wales had the greatest number of Aboriginal 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 this state is a "deeply distressing reality," the state's coroner has remarked.

In a recent statement, Magistrate Teresa O'Sullivan emphasised that this rising pattern was not "mere statistics" and that these deaths demanded "independent and careful scrutiny, respect and responsibility."

Profile Details and Academic Reaction

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

A criminal law associate professor, Amanda Porter, characterised the figures as reflecting a "country-wide emergency" that needs "decisive action and government action."

Ms. Porter, who has been present at several coronial inquests with grieving families, stated little has changed since the 1991's royal commission that was established to address this crisis.

"It's heartbreaking to see the quantity of inquests I attend, the many memorials families have to attend, and the fact that we are three decades after the royal commission, and the problem is getting progressively worse," she noted.

Since the landmark inquiry, a total of 600 Indigenous people have lost their lives in detention, which encompasses six in youth detention, as per the report.