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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Douglas Smith Indigenous affairs reporter

‘Deaths, after deaths, after deaths’: Indigenous deaths in custody reach their highest level since 1980

Prison Nerita Waight The Australian Institute of Criminology
Black Lives Matter Rally, Melbourne, Australia - 06 Jun 2020
The national deaths in custody report by the Australian Institute of Criminology showed there were 33 First Nations deaths in custody recorded in 2024-2025. Photograph: Speed Media/Icon SMI/ZUMA Press/REX/Shutterstock

The widow of a Noongar man who died at a maximum security prison in Western Australia two years ago says “nothing has changed” for Aboriginal people, after a damning report revealed that more Indigenous people died in custody last year than any year since 1980.

The national deaths in custody report by the Australian Institute of Criminology, released on Wednesday, showed there were 113 deaths in custody recorded in 2024-2025, including 33 First Nations people.

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