🔗 Share this article

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

Fresh statistics reveal that 33 of the 113 people who died in custody 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 preceding corresponding period.

Indigenous Australian people remain disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system. They constitute over 33% of all prisoners, even though comprising under 4% of the national population.

These sobering numbers come to light over three decades after a landmark royal commission into First Nations deaths in custody, which made hundreds of recommendations.

Detailed Analysis of the Latest Statistics

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

One death was in a juvenile facility, and all except one of the deceased were men.

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

The primary cause of Indigenous deaths was classified as "self-inflicted," with "illness." The data found that asphyxiation was the method in eight of the cases.

State-by-State Breakdown

The Australian state of New South Wales recorded the greatest number of Indigenous 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 reality," the state's chief medical examiner recently said.

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

Profile Information and Expert Response

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

A university expert, Amanda Porter, described the data as reflecting a "country-wide emergency" that needs "leadership and government action."

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

"It's maddening to witness the quantity of investigations I attend, the many memorials families have to attend, and the reality that we are 30 years past the inquiry, and the situation is getting increasingly worse," she noted.

From the time of the landmark inquiry, a total of 600 Indigenous people have lost their lives in detention, which includes six in juvenile detention centers, as per the findings.