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New report into Indigenous deaths in custody

Only 64 percent of recommendations have been implemented.

A new report has found that only 64 percent of recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody have been implemented.

The report by the Deloitte Access Economics has found that since 1991 the number of deaths in custody has halved, but the rate of incarceration has doubled.

Greens senator Rachel Siewert believes urgent action is required.

“The government has to stop using imprisonment as a way to deal with social issues and poverty,” she told The Guardian.

Reducing the cycle of imprisonment was considered the most important part of the royal commission, yet of the 26 themes it has the lowest rate of implementation.

Of the 339 recommendations from the royal commission, 14 percent have been mostly implemented, 16 percent partly implemented and six percent have not been implemented.

Prison safety has improved, but culturally sensitive health care and mental health workers are needed in jails.

 

Photo: ‘Prison’ by Stefanie Kaufman available here and used under a Creative Commons Attribution.

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