WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised the following article contains the name of an Indigenous person who has died.
The New South Wales Government and police need to take a level of responsibility for the number of Indigenous deaths in custody in the state, experts say.
Last year, NSW — home to the country's largest Indigenous population — saw a record number of First Nations people die in custody. Twelve Indigenous people died in corrective services custody, while a further four died during police operations — the highest number recorded for a full year.
The alarming number led State Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan to argue each death demanded accountability.
"These are not mere statistics," she said at the time. "Each of these deaths represents a person whose life mattered and whose loss is felt deeply by families, loved ones and communities across the state."
Despite the warning, this year, the state is on track to equal the shameful record, with at least seven First Nations people having died in custody since January. The numbers coincide with a record number of First Nations people behind bars.
It is a "crisis," Aboriginal Legal Service (ALS) NSW/ACT Acting CEO Sharif Deen says,"being fuelled by an unprecedented increase in the number of Aboriginal adults jailed in NSW".
While crime levels have remained stable, he says an "explosion in police charges" has led to prison numbers growing more in four months than in the previous four years.
"Aboriginal communities are being disproportionately over-policed and families torn apart, with mothers, fathers, and grandparents forced into custody," Mr Deen told National Indigenous Times.
Of the 13,960 adults in custody as of June this year, 4,726 — 33.9 per cent — were Aboriginal, according to data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR), an increase of 6.3 per cent in 12 months.
The significant uptick is being driven by people held on remand, BOCSAR says, with advocates pointing to stricter bail laws introduced by the Minns Government over the previous two years. More than 48 per cent of First Nations people in custody in June had not been convicted — up 11.5 per cent in 12 months.
The current bail laws are nothing more than a "political football that governments kick around when they want to be seen to be doing something," Mr Deen says. Instead, he argues governments should be investing in things that work: "Supporting families and communities."
He is also clear: The blame for increased custody numbers lies squarely at the feet of the Minns Government.
"Instead of closing the prison gap, the NSW Government has imposed further restrictions on access to bail, all in a bid to score political points," Mr Deen said.
"It's shameful that NSW is in a situation where almost half of all people in prison are being held on remand — they have not been found guilty of a crime and are still waiting for their day in court. This situation has been steadily developing since 2015, but the Minns Government has made it even worse."
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Lawyer and NSW Greens First Nations Justice spokesperson Sue Higginson argues there is a "direct correlation between the decisions, omissions and laws" from the NSW Government and the "increasing risks of deaths in custody".
She points to a scathing NSW Ombudsman report into the prison system, which called for the standard of proof needed to find someone guilty of a prison offence to be retained. It came as inmates were being punished — including by being placed in effectively solitary confinement — for sometimes trivial correctional centre offences, such as failing to clean your cell or trading food.
Instead, the government passed legislation which lowered the standard of proof required to find someone guilty of an offence in prison to "on the balance of probabilities".
"18 peak bodies warned the Minister for Corrections that these laws would increase the risks of deaths in custody," Ms Higginson told National Indigenous Times.
"The justice system is in crisis under the Minns Labor Government due to the bail laws fuelling a skyrocketing remand population. The prison system is not built to accommodate the explosive high remand population."
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In July, 27-year-old Bundjalung, Yaegl and Gamilaroi man Matthew Roberts took his life inside Lithgow Correctional Centre, having been held on remand for several months.
Later that same month, a 21-year-old Aboriginal man died at Clarence Correctional Centre — Australia's largest private prison.
Ms Higginson said the 21-year-old's death came in the wake of the Inspector of Custodial Services ringing the "alarm on the fact more prisoners were being transferred to Clarence — despite severe capacity issues — due to the unreasonably high remand population and overcrowding in prisons across the state".
Deaths in custody are a consequence of an "overcrowded, opaque and dangerous prison system," she argued.
"[The Government] have not made policy changes in response to the record number of First Nations deaths in custody, not even after the NSW Coroner took the unprecedented decision to make a public statement about the shocking truth," Ms Higginson said.
A spokesperson for Clarence Correctional Centre — which is run by British multinational Serco — said they "work closely with Corrective Services NSW and Aboriginal support services to ensure culturally appropriate support is available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in custody and staff".
"Serco extends our sympathies to the family, and the wider Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community," the spokesperson said. "Serco and NSW Police are investigating."
Local Elders conducted a smoking ceremony for the unit and cell involved where the man died, National Indigenous Times understands, with the prison employing two local Aboriginal Cultural and Spiritual Advisors from the Clarence Valley.
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