🔗 Share this article

The number of First Nations people dying while in detention in Australia has hit its record point since official data started in 1980.

Fresh statistics reveal that 33 of the 113 people who died in detention in the year leading up to June have been identified as of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. This represents an uptick from 24 deaths in the previous corresponding period.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people remain disproportionately represented in the justice system. They make up more than one-third of all incarcerated individuals, even though comprising less than four per cent of the country's people.

These disturbing figures emerge more than three decades after a pivotal royal commission into Indigenous deaths in custody, which put forward numerous of recommendations.

Breakdown of the Recent Statistics

Of the 33 Aboriginal deaths in custody logged between last July and this June, 26 occurred while in prison custody, which is an rise from 18 in the previous year.

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

The other six fatalities took place in the custody of law enforcement, defined as a situation where someone dies while police are detaining them.

The main cause of Indigenous deaths was classified as "self-inflicted," with "natural causes." The data noted that hanging was the cause in eight of the deaths.

State-by-State Distribution

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 Indigenous deaths in custody in New South Wales is a "profoundly distressing reality," the state's chief medical examiner has said.

In October, Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan emphasised that this rising pattern was not "just statistics" and that these deaths required "independent and careful scrutiny, dignity and responsibility."

Demographic Details and Academic Response

The average age of those who died was 45 years, and 11 of the individuals were awaiting a sentence.

A university expert, Amanda Porter, described the data as representing a "national crisis" that requires "decisive action and political action."

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

"It's maddening to witness the quantity of inquests I attend, the number funerals families have to attend, and the reality that we are 30 years after the royal commission, and the situation is getting progressively more severe," she noted.

Since the royal commission, a total of 600 Indigenous people have died in detention, which encompasses six in youth detention, as per the report.