March to demand an end to deaths in custody

SYDNEY — A march to commemorate the death, 12 years ago, of John Pat, who was killed in the west Pilbara town of Roebourne, Western Australia, will take place on September 23. This annual event also serves as a reminder that Aboriginal deaths in custody are still taking place at an alarming rate. The Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Watch Committee, the rally organisers, said that since 1989, when the royal commission stopped considering new cases, 75-78 Aboriginal people have died in custody, including 25 in NSW. No NSW police or custodial officer has been charged with murder or even manslaughter.

The royal commission's interim report, released in 1988, recommended that "governments ... [should] enforce the principal that imprisonment be utilised only as a sanction of last resort". Yet, since 1987, the number of Aboriginal people in jail has increased by 36.5% Australia wide, by 97.6% in NSW and by 168% for Aboriginal women in NSW.

According to the Watch Committee, between 1988 and 1993, the number of Aboriginal people arrested in NSW rose by 13%, compared to a negligible increase in the number of non-Aboriginal people arrested. Aboriginal people are still, nationally, 15 times more likely to be in jail than non-Aboriginal people.

The Watch Committee is encouraging those concerned about justice to join the rally on September 23, which will assemble at 11am at Sydney Square, next to the Town Hall, for a march to Redfern Park. For more information, contact 264 9895.

From GLW issue 202