🔗 Share this article

The count of First Nations people losing their lives while in custody in Australia has hit its highest point since the beginning of official data began in 1980.

Fresh figures show that 33 of the 113 people who died in detention in the year ending in June were Indigenous. This represents an rise from 24 deaths in the prior equivalent period.

Indigenous Australian people remain severely represented in the criminal justice system. They constitute more than one-third of all prisoners, despite representing less than four per cent of the national people.

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

Breakdown of the Recent Figures

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

One death occurred in youth detention, and all except one of the deceased were male.

The other six deaths took place in police custody, defined as when someone dies while police are holding or attempting to detain them.

The leading cause of Indigenous deaths was categorised as "self-inflicted," with "natural causes." The data found that asphyxiation was the cause in eight of the deaths.

Geographic Breakdown

The Australian state of New South Wales recorded the greatest number of Aboriginal deaths in prison custody 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 New South Wales is a "deeply distressing reality," the state's chief medical examiner has said.

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

Profile Details and Academic Reaction

The average age of those who died was 45, and eleven of the deceased were still waiting for a sentence.

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

Ms. Porter, who has been present at multiple official inquiries with bereaved families, said very little has improved since the 1991 royal commission that aimed to address this issue.

"It's heartbreaking to see the quantity of inquests I attend, the many funerals families have to attend, and the fact that we are three decades past the royal commission, and the problem is getting increasingly more severe," she noted.

From the time of the royal commission, a total of 600 First Nations people have died in detention, which encompasses six in youth detention, as per the report.