DEATHS IN CUSTODY
In 1991 the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody investigated the deaths of 99 Indigenous people that occurred in police or prison custody between January 1980 and May 1989. One of the outcomes was the establishment of a National Deaths in Custody Monitoring and Research Program at the Australian Institute of Criminology.
During 2006, 54 people died in all forms of custody in Australia. The largest number of deaths in custody recorded since 1990 was in 1997 (105), while the largest number of deaths of Indigenous persons was in 1995 (21) (table 13.32).
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