Amnesty International Launches Report
on Australian Deaths in Custody
As Australian Government officials prepare for a ministerial summit meeting
on deaths in custody on 4 July, Amnesty International is today launching a
major report highlighting the continuing high levels of Aboriginal deaths
in custody.
"As Australia approaches the end of a five-year period for which
special programs were initiated in July 1992 to combat deaths in custody,
it should not turn its back on at least 85 Aborigines who have died in the
custody of police and prison officers since then," Amnesty International
said today.
"Five years after many concerned Australians and a Royal Commission
prompted government commitments to address the problem, the annual
custodial death toll of Aboriginal people continues unabated."
* Nineteen of the 75 people recorded by the government as having died in
custody-related circumstances during the 12 months to 30 June 1996
were Aboriginal -- a 46 per cent increase over the previous year.
* Although Aborigines represent only 1.4 per cent of the adult
population, they accounted for more than 25 per cent of all deaths in
police and prison custody during the year to June 1996.
* In the prison system, Aborigines accounted for 18.5 per cent of all
prisoners but 39 per cent of all those who died in prisons during the
12 months to June 1996.
Although many welcome initiatives have been taken since the 1980s
towards improving the standards of care and addressing other underlying
factors contributing to high Aboriginal death in custody levels, the
problem has merely shifted from police to prison custody.
In its report Amnesty International examines trends in custodial
deaths since the Royal Commission -- including major causes and
circumstances of deaths -- and makes recommen-dations for their prevention.
The report highlights some of the continuing systemic deficiencies in the
standard of care which contributed to the deaths, as well as problems with
the independence and thorough-ness of post-death investigations.
"Many deaths could have been prevented if existing procedures had
been adhered to, and if data on the suicide risk, health and welfare of
prisoners had been properly assessed and brought to the attention of
relevant police and prison officers as well as medical staff," Amnesty
International said.
The human rights organization believes that there should be coronial
post-death investigations into all deaths in custody. As well as serving
to identify the cause of death in individual cases such investigations
could highlight systemic deficiencies in the quality of care.
"The summit meeting offers an important and unique opportunity to
initiate more effective reforms and to help rebuild trust among the general
public, particularly among Aboriginal people, that the government is
serious in its stated commitment to make deaths in custody a high
priority," Amnesty International said.
-------------------------------------
Anyone wanting further information should consult the full report AUSTRALIA
Deaths in custody: how many more? (AI Index: ASA 12/04/97).
For inquiries please contact Amnesty International Secretariat, London
(Australia Desk) Tel: (44) (171) 413-5720; Fax: (44) (171) 956 1157.
For copies of the report call Amnesty International Australia, Tel: (02)
9211 3566. Until mid-July, copies are not yet available through other
Amnesty International offices, except International Secretariat, 1 Easton
Street, London WC1X 8DJ.