🔗 Share this article

The count of Indigenous people losing their lives while in detention in Australia has hit its peak point since the beginning of records began in 1980.

New statistics indicate that 33 of the 113 people who died in custody in the year ending in June have been identified as Indigenous. This represents an increase from 24 fatalities in the preceding equivalent period.

Indigenous Australian people remain severely overrepresented in the criminal justice system. They constitute over 33% of all prisoners, despite comprising less than four per cent of the national people.

These disturbing numbers emerge more than three decades after a landmark royal commission into First Nations deaths in custody, which made hundreds of proposed changes.

Detailed Analysis of the Recent Statistics

Of the 33 Aboriginal deaths in custody logged between last July and this June, twenty-six occurred while in prison custody, which is an rise from 18 in the previous year.

A single death was in youth detention, and the vast majority of the individuals were male.

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

The primary cause of First Nations deaths was categorised as "self-inflicted," followed by "illness." The data found that asphyxiation was the cause in eight of the deaths.

State-by-State Breakdown

The state of New South Wales had the highest 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 Indigenous deaths in custody in this state is a "profoundly distressing reality," the state's chief medical examiner recently remarked.

In October, Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan stressed that this upward pattern was not "just statistics" and that these deaths required "thorough and careful examination, dignity and accountability."

Demographic Details and Expert Response

The average age of those who died was 45 years, and 11 of the individuals were still waiting for a court sentencing.

A criminal law associate professor, Amanda Porter, characterised the data as reflecting a "national crisis" that needs "leadership and government action."

Ms. Porter, who has been present at several official inquiries with grieving families, said very little has improved since the 1991 national inquiry that was established to tackle this issue.

"It's heartbreaking to see the quantity of investigations I attend, the many memorials families have to attend, and the fact that we are 30 years after the royal commission, and the problem is getting progressively more severe," she noted.

From the time of the landmark inquiry, a total of 600 First Nations people have lost their lives in detention, which encompasses six in juvenile detention centers, as per the report.