ABORIGINAL DEATHS IN CUSTODY: Echoes From The Silence Volume One

WARNING

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains references to people who have passed away, as well as material relating to traumatic historical events, violence, and deaths in custody.

Article One: The Crisis We Cannot Ignore – Understanding Aboriginal Deaths in Custody

As a proud descendant of the Anaiwan, Ngarigo, and Wiradjuri peoples, my identity and work are shaped by the strength, resilience, and survival of the ancestors who walked this country long before my time. Their stories, pain, and endurance guide the work I do today.

This is the first article in a series that examines the continuing crisis of Aboriginal deaths in custody, a tragedy that remains largely misunderstood by the wider public despite decades of inquiries, reports, and promises. This series aims to bring clarity, truth, and a renewed call for action.

The Crisis We Cannot Ignore – Understanding Aboriginal Deaths in Custody

My Journey: From Correctional Officer to Human Rights Advocate

My perspective does not come from textbooks or distant commentary—I began my career inside the correctional system itself.

From the early 1990s through to the 2000s, I served as a Queensland prison officer. I later became the State Secretary and President of the Queensland Prison Officers Association, and subsequently the President of the Australian Prison Officers Association. I worked on the frontline during a period of significant change in corrections, witnessing both the strengths and the failures of our custodial systems.

During my time at Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre, I had the honour of speaking regularly with the late Senator Neville Bonner, who visited the centre as an Official Visitor. These conversations profoundly shaped my understanding of justice, humanity, and the dignity owed to all people—especially Aboriginal people who are vastly over-represented in custody.

Neville Bonner never lectured—he inspired.He showed me that leadership is measured not in authority, but in compassion.He taught me that justice work must be grounded in truth.

It is because of mentors like Neville, and the guidance of my old boss Greg Howden, that I later dedicated myself to becoming an Employment and Human Rights Advocate. I have since completed extensive qualifications in law, human rights, justice administration, WHS, and related fields—learning that the systems we challenge must be understood from the inside out.

Why This Series Matters

The latest national figures continue to show what the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody identified more than thirty years ago:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are not dying at higher rates in custody because they receive worse medical care once inside — they are dying because they are taken into custody at vastly disproportionate rates.

This was made clear in the Royal Commission’s findings, including:

• Aboriginal people are up to 20–30 times more likely to be taken into police custody than non‑Indigenous people.

• Over‑policing of public order offences continues to funnel Aboriginal people into custodial environments.

• Failures in medical assessment, supervision, mental health care, and custodial safety contribute directly to preventable deaths.

• The historical dispossession, forced removals, community disruption, and economic marginalisation of Aboriginal people are major underlying factors.

Even today, many recommendations of the Royal Commission remain only partly implemented—or ignored altogether.

A Legacy of Silence and Systemic Harm

The deaths themselves are only the final chapter in a long story. The lives of the deceased, described throughout the Royal Commission’s reports, reveal childhood trauma, institutionalisation, racism, poverty, poor health, lack of opportunity, and the intergenerational scars of colonisation.

The Commission noted that the over‑representation of Aboriginal people in custody cannot be separated from:

• the violent dispossession of land

• the forced removal of children

• the policing of Aboriginal identity and mobility

• the punitive systems imposed by missions, reserves, and institutions

• the criminalisation of everyday survival behaviours

These harms echo through time. Families continue to experience the grief of losing their loved ones in systems that were never designed for their safety, cultural needs, or dignity.

We must name the truth:Most Aboriginal deaths in custody are preventable and avoidable.

The Continuing Crisis: Why the Numbers Haven’t Fallen

Despite public awareness and decades of reforms, Aboriginal deaths in custody continue. Many reasons identified in recent statistical reports mirror the findings of the Royal

Commission:

• continued incarceration for minor public order offences

• failures in police screening, monitoring, or welfare checks

• inadequate responses to medical distress

• lack of culturally grounded mental health support

• poor physical conditions in watch‑houses and cells

• systemic indifference rooted in structural racism

These failures occur despite officers often working under extreme pressure, limited staffing, and outdated systems. But the responsibility remains:When a person is taken into custody, the state owes them a non‑negotiable duty of care.

Acknowledging the Ancestors and Families

Every Aboriginal death in custody reverberates through families, communities, and Country. Our kinship networks mean that a single death touches hundreds of lives. Grief is not an individual burden—it is communal, cultural, and deeply spiritual.

To the families and communities who continue to carry this pain:I acknowledge your strength, your sorrow, and your right to truth and justice.

Where We Go From Here

In the next articles of this series, we will explore:

• the systemic causes of over-representation

• the historical roots that shape today’s custodial practices

• failures in policing, courts, health assessments, and prisons

• the mental health crisis facing Aboriginal people in custody

• the pathways to reform and prevention

• the need for proper family advocacy support at a grassroots level

One message will remain consistent throughout:We cannot address Aboriginal deaths in custody without addressing the systems that produce them.

And those systems cannot be changed without Aboriginal-led advocacy, community‑driven initiatives, and a national willingness to confront uncomfortable truths.

Closing Reflection

This work is personal.It is cultural.It is generational.

I write this not only as an advocate, but as an Aboriginal man carrying the stories and responsibilities of those before me. My ancestors walked this land long before prisons, police cells, or colonial laws existed. Their resilience is the reason I stand here today advocating for justice, truth, and dignity for our people.

The silence that has surrounded these deaths for generations must end.

This series, Echoes from the Silence, is one step in breaking that silence.