The statistics used to discuss deaths in custody can make us lose sight of the fact that it’s people we’re talking about. People with families and friends, who died prematurely – and often brutally.
The royal commission was highly critical of police investigating other police officers, but police remain responsible for investigating deaths in custody in most Australian jurisdictions.
Rae Allen/Flickr
Accountability for the deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at the hands of the state remains absent 25 years after the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody’s report.
Reema Rattan, The Conversation and Wes Mountain, The Conversation
In the 25 years since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, we’ve gone backwards.
A harsh criminal justice system – in particular, more prisons and people behind bars – has apparently become a hallmark of good government.
AAP/Dave Hunt
Australia has become less compassionate, more punitive and more ready to blame individuals for their alleged failings since the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.
Indigenous prison and police custody rates have actually increased since the royal commission tabled its report.
AAP/Richard Milnes
The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody’s report was meant to be a blueprint for reducing the disproportionate incarceration of Indigenous Australians and deaths in custody.