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Articles on Deaths in custody

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The Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Ont. A coroner’s inquest into Soleiman Faqiri’s death at the facility has seen graphic video and heard testimony about the brutal force used against him by corrections officers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

Inquest into Soleiman Faqiri’s death at an Ontario ‘super jail’ reignites calls for reform

People with mental health challenges are more likely to die in custody. The coroner’s inquest into the death of Soleiman Faqiri in an Ontario jail is one such tragedy that calls out for reform.
The family of Rebecca Maher, an Aboriginal woman who died in custody in 2016, believed access to a custody notification service would have been an important check in the absence of police care. Bianca De Marchi/AAP

Legal and welfare checks should be extended to save Aboriginal lives in custody

Tanya Day, Ms Dhu and Rebecca Maher are among the 400 people who have died in custody more than 25 years since the Royal Commission. How could those deaths have been avoided?
Paul Keating recognised the significant opportunities – and political risks – the High Court’s Mabo decision presented. National Archives of Australia

Cabinet papers 1992-93: Keating government fights for Indigenous rights on multiple fronts

Cabinet papers reveal the extent to which the Keating government was torn between concern for fiscal responsibility and a desire to tackle Indigenous disadvantage and pursue meaningful reconciliation.
Protestors in Perth call for an independent investigation into Ms Dhu’s death. AAP/Jesse Roberts

Why we should honour the humanity of every person who dies in custody

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

Scales of justice still tipped towards police who harm people in their custody

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.
A harsh criminal justice system – in particular, more prisons and people behind bars – has apparently become a hallmark of good government. AAP/Dave Hunt

How ‘tough on crime’ politics flouts death-in-custody recommendations

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.
For a modest amount, the Custody Notification Service provides NSW with one of the most effective strategies in curbing Indigenous deaths in police custody.` shutterstock

NSW ditches another protection for Indigenous people in custody

Without the Custody Notification Service in NSW, deaths of Indigenous people in police custody will almost certainly increase, along with the over-representation of Indigenous people in prison.
A bit of ‘territorial support’ from the thin blue line. Carl Court/PA Wire

Violence in Britain: getting away with murder?

Over the past ten years, 519 people have died after contact with the police, either in custody (the great majority) or during a pursuit or another road traffic incident. Some 23 people have been shot by…

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