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Australian Deaths in Custody, 1990 and 1991

NCJ Number
141321
Author(s)
D McDonald
Date Published
1992
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This report updates information on deaths in Australian prison and police custody obtained by the Royal Commission for the period January 1980 to December 31, 1991; this report covers the years 1990 and 1991.
Abstract
During 1990 and 1991, 114 deaths in custody occurred in Australia. Almost two-thirds of these were deaths in prison; the balance were police custody deaths. All but six were males. Aboriginal people were overrepresented in the number of deaths, which reflects their high level of over representation in the prison and police custody populations. The ages of those who died ranged from 14 to 74 years, averaging 36 years. Twenty-two of the 70 prison deaths were among remandees, who constitute only 17 percent of all prisoners. The most frequent causes of death were suicide (50 deaths) and disease (35 deaths). Regarding the offenses which led to custody, the four most serious (homicide, assault, sexual offenses, and robbery) accounted for almost half the cases. Overall, the number of deaths in custody has not fallen in the period since the Royal Commission completed its work. The trend is generally upward. The 53 deaths that occurred in 1990 was close to the annual number in previous years, but the 61 deaths in 1991 was a marked increase. 9 tables and 4 figures

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