🔗 Share this article

The tally of First Nations people dying while in detention in Australia has reached its record point since the beginning of official data started in 1980.

Recently released data show that 33 of the 113 people who passed away in detention in the 12-month period leading up to June were Indigenous. This represents an rise from 24 fatalities in the prior equivalent period.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are disproportionately overrepresented in the criminal justice system. They make up more than one-third of all prisoners, even though representing less than four per cent of the national population.

These sobering statistics emerge more than three decades after a seminal royal commission into First Nations deaths in custody, which made numerous of proposed changes.

Detailed Analysis of the Latest Figures

Of the 33 Indigenous deaths in custody recorded between last July and this June, twenty-six took place while in a correctional facility, which is an increase from 18 in the prior year.

One death occurred in a juvenile facility, and the vast majority of the individuals were men.

The other six fatalities happened in the custody of law enforcement, defined as a situation where someone passes away while police are holding or attempting to detain them.

The main reason of First Nations deaths was classified as "self-inflicted," with "illness." The report found that hanging was the method in eight of the cases.

State-by-State Breakdown

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

The increasing number of Indigenous deaths in custody in this state is a "deeply distressing tragedy," the state's coroner has said.

In a recent statement, Magistrate Teresa O'Sullivan stressed that this upward pattern was not "mere statistics" and that these deaths demanded "independent and careful examination, dignity and accountability."

Profile Information and Academic Reaction

The mean age of those who died was 45, and 11 of the individuals were awaiting a court sentencing.

A criminal law associate professor, Amanda Porter, characterised the data as representing a "country-wide crisis" that requires "leadership and government action."

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

"It's heartbreaking to witness the number of investigations I attend, the number memorials families have to attend, and the reality that we are three decades past the inquiry, and the situation is getting increasingly worse," she commented.

From the time of the royal commission, a approximately 600 Indigenous people have died in detention, which includes six in juvenile detention centers, as per the report.