🔗 Share this article

The number of First Nations people losing their lives while in detention in Australia has climbed to its peak point since records started in 1980.

Fresh data reveal that 33 of the 113 individuals who passed away in detention in the year leading up to June have been identified as Indigenous. This represents an rise from 24 fatalities in the previous corresponding period.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are severely overrepresented in the justice system. They make up over 33% of all incarcerated individuals, even though comprising less than four per cent of the country's people.

These concerning figures come to light over three decades after a seminal royal commission into Indigenous deaths in custody, which made hundreds of proposed changes.

Breakdown of the Recent Figures

Of the 33 Indigenous 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 prior year.

A single death occurred in youth detention, and all except one of the individuals were male.

The other six fatalities happened in police custody, defined as a situation where someone passes away while police are detaining them.

The leading reason of First Nations deaths was classified as "self-harm," with "illness." The data noted that hanging was the method in eight of the cases.

Geographic Breakdown

The state of New South Wales had the greatest number of Indigenous deaths in prison custody with nine, then Western Australia with six. Queensland, South Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory all recorded three deaths.

The rising number of First Nations deaths in custody in New South Wales is a "profoundly distressing tragedy," the state's coroner recently remarked.

In a recent statement, Magistrate Teresa O'Sullivan emphasised that this rising trend was not "mere statistics" and that these deaths required "independent and careful examination, respect and responsibility."

Profile Information and Expert Response

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

A criminal law associate professor, Amanda Porter, described the figures as representing a "national emergency" that requires "leadership and government action."

Ms. Porter, who has attended several coronial inquests with grieving families, stated very little has improved since the 1991's national inquiry that was established to tackle this crisis.

"It's maddening to see the quantity of inquests I attend, the many memorials families have to attend, and the fact that we are three decades past the inquiry, and the situation is getting progressively more severe," she commented.

Since the royal commission, a approximately 600 Indigenous people have lost their lives in detention, which includes six in youth detention, as per the findings.