🔗 Share this article Indigenous Deaths in Detention in Australia Climb to Record Level Since 1980 Indigenous detainees represent over 30% of the country's incarcerated inmates. The tally of Indigenous people losing their lives while in detention in Australia has climbed to its record point since records started in 1980. New statistics indicate that 33 of the 113 people who died in custody in the year leading up to June have been identified as of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. This marks an increase from 24 deaths in the prior corresponding period. Indigenous Australian people are grossly represented in the criminal justice system. They constitute more than one-third of all prisoners, despite representing less than four per cent of the country's population. These concerning statistics emerge more than three decades after a landmark inquiry into Indigenous deaths in custody, which put forward numerous 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 a correctional facility, which is an rise from 18 in the previous year. A single death was in a juvenile facility, and the vast majority of the deceased were male. The remaining six deaths happened in the custody of law enforcement, defined as a situation where someone passes away while police are holding or attempting to detain them. The main reason of First Nations deaths was classified as "self-inflicted," followed by "illness." The data found that hanging was the cause in eight of the deaths. State-by-State Distribution The Australian state of New South Wales recorded the greatest number of Aboriginal deaths in prison custody with nine, followed by 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 remarked. In a recent statement, Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan emphasised that this upward pattern was not "mere statistics" and that these deaths demanded "independent and careful scrutiny, dignity and accountability." Profile Details and Expert Response The mean age of those who died was 45, and 11 of the deceased were awaiting a sentence. A criminal law associate professor, Amanda Porter, characterised the figures as representing a "national 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 tackle this issue. "It's heartbreaking to witness the number of inquests I attend, the many memorials families have to attend, and the fact that we are 30 years past the royal commission, and the problem is getting increasingly worse," she noted. From the time of the royal commission, a total of 600 First Nations people have died in detention, which includes six in youth detention, as per the findings.