NCJ Number
185155
Editor(s)
Adam Graycar Dr.
Date Published
June 2000
Length
6 pages
Annotation
In 1999, 85 people died in police or prison custody in Australia, 10 fewer than the previous year; the number of deaths in police custody (26) was the second lowest since records were kept and the number of prison deaths overall (59) was down from the previous 2 years.
Abstract
No juveniles died in the custody of juvenile agencies during the year. The 85 deaths reported during the year was 11.7 percent lower than the 95 reported during 1998 and 23.5 percent less than the 105 deaths reported during 1997. Seven women died in custody during 1999, four in prison custody and three in police custody or police operations. The overall number of deaths in prison custody fell by 28.8 percent during the previous 2 years, from 76 in 1997 to 59 in 1999. The overall number of deaths in all forms of police custody (institutional and police operations) declined from 31 in 1990 to 26 in 1999. In line with 20-year trends, aboriginal people were significantly overrepresented in the number of custodial deaths during 1999; of the 85 deaths, 19 (22 percent) involved indigenous people. Those who died in police custody were between 14 and 61 years of age, while those who died in prison custody were between 18 and 87 years of age. Hanging was the most frequent cause of death, accounting for 34 percent of all deaths during 1999. The relative risk of death in prison custody for indigenous prisoners was 1.2 times greater than that for non-indigenous prisoners. 2 references, 6 tables, and 6 figures