Deaths in Custody in Australia: 2001 National Deaths in Custody Program (NDICP) Annual Report

• NCJ Number: 198246
• Author(s): Lisa Collins
• Date Published: 2002
• Length: 40 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Report (Annual/Periodic)
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

This annual report discusses an ongoing program designed to monitor Indigenous and non-Indigenous deaths in prison, police custody, and juvenile detention in Australia.

Abstract

Sponsored by the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC), this annual report evaluates an ongoing program, begun in 1991, designed to monitor Indigenous and non-Indigenous deaths in prison, police custody, and juvenile detention in Australia. In response to the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody’s request to develop a program to monitor deaths in Australia’s prisons, the National Deaths in Custody Program (NDICP) was established at the AIC in order to provide comprehensive and authoritative data on all deaths that occur in custody and custody-related police operations. The NDICP collects data from State coronial records, national press clippings, and data collection forms completed by all State and territory police services and correctional departments in Australia. Detailing the Australian deaths in custody for 2001, this report argues that, in 2001, a total of 87 deaths occurred in police and prison custody, with New South Wales recording 34 custodial deaths, Queensland recording 19 deaths, Western Australia recording 13 deaths, Victoria recording 10 deaths, South Australia recording 8 deaths, and the Northern Territory recording 3 deaths. Furthermore, this annual report argues that of the 87 custodial deaths in Australia for 2001, 56 deaths occurred in prison custody and 31 deaths occurred in police custody and custody-related operations across Australia. In terms of demographics, the author reports that of the 87 deaths in custody, 78 percent were of non-Indigenous persons, averaging 38 years old. Describing circumstances surrounding deaths in custody, deaths due to natural causes were the most common causes of death in 2001, with Indigenous persons having hangings as the leading cause of death and non-Indigenous persons having death due to natural causes as the leading cause of death. The bulk of this report comprises a series of tables, charts, and graphs detailing the trends in custodial deaths in prison and police custody, discussed in the beginning of this report. References