Grim milestone for state's Indigenous deaths in custody

Twelve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have died in NSW jails so far in 2025.

"This is a profoundly distressing milestone," State Coroner Teresa O'Sullivan said in an open letter on Wednesday.

"These are not mere statistics. 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."

Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) CEO Karly Warner said the numbers are a "horrifying record" that laid at the feet of the NSW government, adding it "should be absolutely ashamed".

"This is a crisis and a preventable tragedy that should deeply alarm everyone in NSW. A prison sentence should not be a death sentence," Ms Warner said.

She said the record-breaking number of Aboriginal deaths in custody comes on the back of marked increases over consecutive years in Aboriginal people being jailed.

"NSW is driving more Aboriginal women, children and men into prison than ever before through punitive laws and policing practices," Ms Warner noted.

Recent data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research shows there were 4386 Aboriginal adults in custody as of June.

That represents more than one-third of the total adult prison population, despite Aboriginal people comprising around 3.5 per cent of the state's population.

"Aboriginal people are more likely to be stopped, searched, arrested by police compared to non-indigenous people. They're also more likely to proceed to court for minor offences," Ms Warner explained to ABC News Breakfast.

Over the past five years, the number of Aboriginal people in custody has increased by 18.9 per cent, while the non-Aboriginal prison population has declined by 12.5 per cent.

Nearly half of Aboriginal adults in custody (45.6 per cent) were on remand or refused bail awaiting further court outcomes.

The number of Aboriginal people on remand has surged by 63 per cent over the same five-year period.

Ms Warner called on the NSW government to reduce the "mass incarceration" of Aboriginal people under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap starting with better policing of the racialised minority.

"The NSW government continues to double down on laws and policing which guarantee increased imprisonment – instead of preventing people from entering prison in the first place."

Ms O'Sullivan said these figures reflect "the entrenched over-representation of First Nations peoples in the criminal justice system."

She argued the systemic issue contributed to the rising number of deaths in custody.

Australian Associated Press