source: National Indigenous Times

published: 15 December 2023

Image Credit: Sira Anamwong at www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

2022-23 was the deadliest year on record for First Nations people in prison, with a new report leading to increased calls by human rights campaigners to reduce incarceration numbers Australia wide.

21 First Nations prisoners died whilst incarcerated between July 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023, the highest number since 1979-80. Of these tragic deaths, 11 people were unsentenced at the time of their death, they hadn't been found guilty of a crime.

Co-chair of Change the Record, Narungga Woman Cheryl Axleby, says "discriminatory" policies see Indigenous people arrested at "extraordinary" rates.

This has resulted in First Nations people dying in prisons and jails in numbers that have failed to rescind.

In the 32 years since the 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC), there have been at least 556 Indigenous deaths in custody.

"Racist, law-and-order politics and policies cost lives," Ms Axleby said.

"Our communities have endured too much loss. Every death in custody is an unspeakable tragedy for that person's family, friends and community."

This year alone has seen 19 Indigenous deaths in custody – with a further 32 in 2022. They include Cleveland Dodd, 16, who died after being found in his cell at Unit 18 in the adult Casuarina prison; and Jeffrey Winmar, 28, who died in the aftermath of his arrest in suburban Melbourne.

The statistics form part of the latest numbers from the Australian Institute of Criminology and are designed to reveal full transparency around Indigenous deaths in custody.

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