Deaths in custody

The 1991 Royal Commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody found that Aboriginal prisoners were not dying at a greater rate than whitefella prisoners. The unfortunate truth it did find is that Aboriginals are jailed at a disproportionate rate and that is how a disproportionate number out of the total population are dying in prisons.

We are not treating Aboriginals worse when they are in custody, we are simply taking more into custody more often.

The Commission’s final report contained 339 recommendations, one of which was comprehensive training for people in the judicial system. The training would cover contemporary society, customs and traditions, as well as emphasising historical and social causes of Aboriginal disadvantage, and looking at the nature of relations between Aboriginals and whitefellas.

Following this recommendation, the Australian Institute of Judicial Administration Inc [AIJAI] produced an Aboriginal Benchbook designed to be used in Western Australia. This was intended as a template for other jurisdictions, and some other states have since produced similar handbooks. In these, the topics mentioned in recommendation 339 are well covered, in a legal context and complete with a million references to statute and case law.