Deaths in Custody in Australia 1990-2004

• NCJ Number: 214574
• Author(s): Jacqueline Joudo
• Date Published: April 2006
• Length: 6 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Statistics
• Language: English
• Country: Australia
• Note: AIC Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, No. 309, April 2006.

Annotation

This report summarizes the trends related to deaths in custody in Australia between 1990 and 2004.

Abstract

Although the majority of Australian deaths in custody occurred in police custody between 1980 and 1989, the trend in the 15 years since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) reveals a different picture. Prison custody deaths have accounted for the majority of deaths in custody since 1990 and have exceeded all other deaths each year. Additionally, while deaths in police custody have decreased since 1990, deaths in police operations have been increasing. Deaths of indigenous persons were lowest in police custody (n=39), however there were 145 prison deaths recorded during the same time period. It is important to continue to monitor all deaths in custody in order to identify changing trends in custody deaths across Australia. This report presents findings on trends of every death occurring in prison custody, police custody, and custody-related operations and in juvenile detention facilities across Australia from 1990 to 2004. References