🔗 Share this article Indigenous Deaths in Custody in Australia Reach Highest Level Since the Start of 1980 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander detainees represent over 30% of the country's total prison population. The count of Indigenous people losing their lives while in detention in Australia has reached its highest point since records started in 1980. New data indicate that 33 of the 113 individuals who died in detention in the 12-month period leading up to June have been identified as of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. This represents an increase from 24 fatalities in the preceding equivalent period. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people remain severely represented in the criminal justice system. They make up more than one-third of all incarcerated individuals, despite representing under 4% of the national people. These sobering statistics emerge over three decades after a seminal royal commission into Indigenous deaths in custody, which made numerous of recommendations. Breakdown of the Recent Figures Of the 33 Aboriginal deaths in custody recorded between last July and this June, 26 occurred while in a correctional facility, which is an rise from 18 in the previous year. A single death was in a juvenile facility, and all except one of the individuals were male. 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 leading reason of First Nations deaths was classified as "self-inflicted," with "illness." The report noted that hanging was the method in eight of the cases. State-by-State Breakdown The state of New South Wales recorded the greatest 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 growing number of First Nations deaths in custody in New South Wales is a "deeply distressing reality," the state's chief medical examiner recently remarked. In October, Magistrate Teresa O'Sullivan emphasised that this upward trend was not "just statistics" and that these deaths required "independent and careful examination, dignity and responsibility." Demographic Information and Expert Reaction The average age of those who died was 45, and eleven of the individuals were still waiting for a court sentencing. A criminal law expert, Amanda Porter, characterised the data as representing a "country-wide crisis" that needs "leadership and political action." Ms. Porter, who has attended several coronial inquests with grieving families, stated little has improved since the 1991 national inquiry that aimed to tackle this issue. "It's infuriating to witness the number of inquests I attend, the number funerals families have to attend, and the fact that we are three decades after the royal commission, and the situation is getting increasingly worse," she commented. Since the royal commission, a total of 600 First Nations people have lost their lives in custody, which encompasses six in youth detention, according to the findings.