Year: 1999 Source: Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, no.131, (October 1999), p.1-6 SIEC No: 20011425

This paper summarizes Australian Aboriginal custodial mortality since 1980. Among Aboriginal prisoners, there have been more deaths from natural causes than from suicide over the years, but since 1994 suicide deaths have exceeded or equaled those from natural causes. In each year since 1995, suicide has represented the cause of more than 50% of all deaths of Aboriginal people in Australian prisons.