NAAJA calls for 'emergency intervention' in NT justice system, after second death in custody
One of Australia's largest Aboriginal legal services is calling for an "emergency intervention" to "de-escalate" tensions in the Northern Territory's justice system, following two deaths of Aboriginal men in police custody in less than a fortnight.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name of an Indigenous person who has died, used with the permission of their family.
The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) is the latest in a growing list of organisations urging the federal government to "step in" in the wake of the death of Kumanjayi White in Alice Springs.
The 24-year-old Warlpiri man, who lived with disabilities, died late last month after being restrained by police on the floor of a Coles supermarket.
His death has sparked vigils and rallies across Australia.
The NT Police Force (NTPF) has rejected requests from multiple bodies, including from the NT's two largest land councils and Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy, to hand the investigation to an independent body.
The Central Land Council (CLC) has urged the federal government to withhold its funding to the NT government until it establishes an "independent police conduct commission".
On Saturday, less than a fortnight after Mr White's death, a senior elder from Wadeye died in the custody of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) at Royal Darwin Hospital.
The AFP said the man suffered a "sudden and serious medical episode" upon arriving at the hospital, while the NTPF said his cause of death remained "undetermined pending a post-mortem".
NAAJA acting chief executive Anthony Beven said the NT government could not afford to wait for an investigation into Mr White's death to respond.
He said NAAJA was urging the government to hold a "forum" with First Nations leaders and both Commonwealth and NT authorities to address the territory's soaring incarceration rate.
"The only way we expect that there will be change is if we have a forum where all the parties come together and we have an emergency intervention into what's happening in the territory," he said.
Since winning government in the NT in August, the Country Liberal Party (CLP) has enacted a series of justice reforms.
Those reforms have collectively reduced the circumstances under which people can be granted bail and allowed police to make arrests for public intoxication.
Both remand prisoner and total prisoner numbers have surged dramatically since the CLP took office, after rising steadily over previous years.
Government data shows last week the proportion of NT prisoners on remand reached 49.7 per cent, meaning half of all inmates are yet to be convicted or sentenced in court.
Mr Beven said the government's bail reforms had "watered down" the presumption of innocence, making First Nations people "fearful" of police officers and the justice system.
"They're seeing their family — their sons, their daughters, their husbands, their wives — being locked up and held on remand for long periods of time," he said.
In response to Kumanjayi White's death, the chairs of both the CLC and the Northern Land Council (NLC) have released statements describing a deteriorating relationship between Aboriginal Territorians, the government and law enforcement.
CLC chair Warren Williams said the Aboriginal communities the council represented "don't trust this government and its police force to keep us safe".
In a statement, NLC chair Matthew Ryan said Aboriginal people "fear police instead of trusting they will protect and serve their communities".
Mr Beven said NAAJA wanted to "de-escalate" the distrust through its proposed forum.
"There's so many good police officers in the territory who are doing wonderful things to keep our community safe, and they're an essential part of the territory," he said.
In a statement, an NT government spokesperson said it would "continue to back our police and are proud to see officers serving and protecting their own communities".
"We respect the active police and coronial investigations," the spokesperson said.
"Following extensive consultation, we will continue progressing justice reforms that put the rights of victims ahead of offenders."
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