12 First Nations people have died in custody in NSW this year.
It is the highest number of Indigenous deaths in custody the state has ever recorded in a single year, with two and a half months left to go.
The statistic was revealed in an open letter from State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan, who called it a “distressing milestone.”
First Nations advocates said “punitive laws and policing practices” caused the “preventable” deaths.
Custody
According to recent data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR), First Nations Australians make up 33% of the state’s total adult prison population.
As of June this year, more than 4,300 First Nations adults were in custody, an 18.9% increase since 2020.
Nearly half (46%) were in custody while awaiting trial. The number of First Nations people in pre-trial custody has grown by 63% over the past five years.
O’Sullivan said the rising number of deaths highlights the “entrenched over-representation” of First Nations people in custody.
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She said the Coroner’s Court is committed to investigating these deaths, which are “felt deeply” by communities.
“These are not mere statistics. They are individuals whose deaths demand independent and careful scrutiny, respect, and accountability,” O’Sullivan said.
Advocates
The Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) called the deaths a “preventable tragedy” caused by state laws and policing strategies that “guarantee increased imprisonment”.
ALS CEO Karly Warner said the Government is failing to act on community-led solutions that have been “sitting on the shelf, gathering dust”.
“The NSW Government continues to double down on laws and policing... instead of preventing people from entering prison in the first place by meeting their needs,” Warner said.
Government
A NSW Government spokesperson told TDA that ”each one of these deaths is a tragedy,” and that it remains committed to reducing “all preventable deaths in custody”.
The spokesperson said a review of First Nations deaths in custody in the state since 2010 is underway, led by “many Aboriginal experts“.
