Today the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) has released its Deaths in Custody in Australia 2023–24 report. From 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024, there were 104 deaths in custody, 6 less than in 2022–23. There were 24 First Nations people (23%) who died in custody.
During the reporting period, there were 76 deaths in prison custody and one death in youth detention. Eighteen First Nations people (24%) died in prison custody during the year. There were 27 deaths in police custody, of which 5 (19%) were First Nations people.
AIC Deputy Director Dr Rick Brown emphasised the importance of timely and in-depth data to reduce deaths in custody and improve justice outcomes.
“Accurate and policy-relevant research such as this is vital to inform early intervention and prevention strategies, particularly in an effort to reduce the over-incarceration of First Nations people,” Dr Brown said.
The AIC’s National Deaths in Custody Program has monitored the extent and nature of deaths occurring in prison, police custody and youth detention in Australia since 1980, following a recommendation made by the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.
The real-time reporting dashboard provides up‑to-date information on all deaths occurring in police and prison custody as well as in youth detention at a national level. However, this annual report provides a more extensive analysis of the issue.
The full report is available on the AIC website.
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