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The number of First Nations people dying while in custody in Australia has reached its record point since official data started in 1980.

Recently released data show that 33 of the 113 people who died in custody in the year leading up to June have been identified as of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. This marks an uptick from 24 fatalities in the preceding corresponding period.

Indigenous Australian people remain grossly overrepresented in the justice system. They make up over 33% of all incarcerated individuals, despite representing under 4% of the national population.

These sobering statistics emerge over three decades after a landmark royal commission into First Nations deaths in custody, which made hundreds of proposed changes.

Breakdown of the Recent Statistics

Of the 33 Aboriginal deaths in custody logged between last July and this June, 26 took place while in a correctional facility, which is an rise from 18 in the prior year.

One death was in youth detention, and the vast majority of the deceased were male.

The other six fatalities took place in the custody of law enforcement, defined as when someone dies while police are detaining them.

The primary cause of First Nations deaths was classified as "self-inflicted," followed by "natural causes." The report found that hanging was the method in eight of the cases.

Geographic Breakdown

The Australian state of New South Wales had the greatest number of Aboriginal deaths in correctional facilities with nine, then Western Australia with six. Queensland, South Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory all recorded three deaths.

The rising number of First Nations deaths in custody in New South Wales is a "profoundly distressing tragedy," the state's coroner recently stated.

In a recent statement, Magistrate Teresa O'Sullivan stressed that this upward trend was not "just statistics" and that these deaths demanded "thorough and careful scrutiny, dignity and accountability."

Demographic Details and Expert Response

The mean age of those who died was 45, and eleven of the deceased were still waiting for a court sentencing.

A university associate professor, Amanda Porter, described the figures as representing a "national emergency" that requires "leadership and political action."

Ms. Porter, who has been present at multiple coronial inquests with bereaved families, said little has improved since the 1991's royal commission that was established to address this issue.

"It's heartbreaking to witness the quantity of inquests I attend, the many funerals families have to attend, and the fact that we are three decades past the inquiry, and the problem is getting increasingly worse," she noted.

From the time of the royal commission, a approximately 600 First Nations people have lost their lives in custody, which encompasses six in youth detention, as per the report.