Hundreds of thousands of people have marched in solidarity with us against the issue of state sanctioned brutality. Systemic change is long overdue.
At least 441 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have died in custody since the Royal Commission handed down its finding in 1991. These aren’t just numbers to us: these are our Elders, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and children.
No police officer or authority has ever been held criminally responsible. The legal system is so entrenched with systemic racism that Aboriginal people are the most incarcerated people in the world. Yet when one of our loved ones dies in the custody of police officers, prison guards or medical officers, there is no accountability.
Speakers expressed outrage that the 339 recommendations handed down had largely been ignored by successive governments.
These recommendations, which focussed on preventing First Nations peoples from being in prison in the first place, could have saved the lives of many if they had been implemented.
Despite a number of inquests and reports, the incarceration rate of First Nations peoples has continued to increase largely because the criminal justice system is increasing the severity of its treatment of Indigenous people.
There were 12,344 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in prisons last December, up from 12,322 the previous year and 7619 in 2011. First Nations peoples make up just 3% of the population but account for 30% of the prison population.
Families Of 15 Indigenous People Who Died In Custody Demand To Talk To ScoMo
They say the lack of action from the government, 30 years on from the Royal Commission, can no longer be ignored.
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Fifteen Indigenous families who have lost loved ones in the care of police or the corrections system have joined together to demand that Prime Minister Scott Morrison meet with them on the anniversary of the Royal Commission into deaths in custody.
The families say it’s time the government sat down and had an honest conversation with them about why Blak people continue to die in police custody, and explain why a government inquiry didn’t prevent a further 441 deaths.