NCJ Number
176529
Date Published
1998
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This article presents statistics on deaths in Australia's prisons during the period 1980-1997.
Abstract
During the period 1980-1997, 719 people died in Australia's prisons. The largest increase in the number of prison deaths was between 1996 and 1997, when it increased by 44 percent. However, in the previous 17 years, the death rate per 1,000 prisoners fluctuated across a fairly narrow range. This article presents data that highlight some of the notable jurisdictional differences, including comparisons between death rates for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. The overwhelming majority of deaths were of non-Indigenous people. Approximately 15 percent of Australia's prison population was on remand, yet that group comprised a disproportionate number of prison deaths. Forty-two percent of deaths were by hanging and 33 percent by natural causes. However, among Aboriginal people death from illness and natural causes exceeded deaths by hanging. Aboriginal health and the persistent overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in custody are key factors in seeking preventive mechanisms. Figures, tables, references