Take a Stand Against Deaths In Custody

Right now the world is watching the United States in horror, after George Floyd – an unarmed black man – was mercilessly killed by police.

It's yet another story of a life taken too soon, and a horrific reminder of the violence that First Nations people face at the hands of the police, right here in Australia.

Since the Royal Commision into First Nations Deaths in Custody,the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people that have died in custody has quadrupled – that's over 400 people that have lost their lives at the hands of our justice system in the past 30 years alone.1

Despite this, not one single perpetrator has been convicted.

A report by The Guardian found many of these deaths in custody were entirely preventable and detailed the shocking disparity between the treatment of First Nations people compared to non-indigenous peoples.2

Sign the petition and demand the government takes action to put an end to deaths in custody. Together we can stand with First Nations communities on the frontlines of police violence and make sure that we see change nationally.
Since the handing down of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal deaths in Custody findings and recommendations, successive State and Federal governments have failed or refused to implement the recommendations.3

Over this time the rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander incarceration has skyrocketed – making Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people one of the most incarcerated populations of people anywhere in the world.

Peoples who make up less than 3% of the Australian population make up 27% of our prison population.

We know that a person's race does not make them more likely to commit a crime. It does however, affect how people are treated by our justice system. Experts have found that Aboriginal people are often incarcerated for minor offences and unfairly targeted under regimes like mandatory sentencing which is rolled out across many remote communities and areas with high Aboriginal populations.

Victims' families, First Nations Communities, Activists and Leaders have been calling for more than two decades for the recommendations of the Royal Commision to be implemented in order to stop deaths in custody.

It's clear we have a deep seeded problem that is costing people's lives, yet for years, Federal and State Governments have ignored calls from First Nations people to take action to prevent further deaths in custody.

But with the world talking about George Floyds death, the flames of injustice have been stoked, and black communities across the world are standing up to demand fair and just treatment.

The National Cabinet, made up of Federal and state leaders, meets in less than two weeks, so we need to ramp up the pressure now. Will you sign the petition demanding National Cabinet make this the top priority at their next meeting?
References:
[1]'Deaths in our backyard': 432 Indigenous Australians have died in custody since 1991', The Guardian, 01 June 2020.
[2] We examined every Indigenous death in custody since 2008. This is why, The Guardian, 28 August 2018
[3] Deaths in custody: 25 years after the royal commission, we've gone backwards, The Conversation, 13 April 2016

ADD YOUR VOICE

We call on the Government to take action to put an end to deaths in custody.




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