This article was first published by NITV
First Nations advocates are calling for more investment in crime prevention after a 42-year-old Aboriginal man died in Bathurst jail on Tuesday afternoon.
NSW Police were called to Bathurst Correctional Centre at about 230pm on Tuesday, after prison staff found the man unresponsive in his cell.
Anaiwan man Blake Cansdale, national director of Change the Record, an NFP that advocates to reduce the over-representation of First Nations people in jail, said he was outraged by another preventable death in custody.
“Another First Nations life lost to a system that continues to fail our people at every level,” he said.
“Prisons do not deliver justice.
“They prioritise punishment over rehabilitation, profit over people, and crisis over care.”
Cansdale said governments should stop pouring money into incarceration and start investing in solutions to keep people out of the criminal justice system.
“Governments know the truth: our people are being incarcerated at devastating rates, and too many never make it home,” he said.
“This is not about community safety – it is about sustaining a broken system that has inflicted harm on First Nations communities for generations.
“We need urgent, sustained funding for community-led, culturally responsive services that break cycles of harm and deliver real justice.
“The focus must be on prevention – on targeted early intervention that tackles the root causes of offending and keeps our people safe.”
A crime scene was established and a report will be prepared for the Coroner, as is mandatory for all NSW deaths in custody.
“How many more deaths will it take before they finally listen?” Cansdale said.
“Black lives have always mattered, and they always will.
“It’s time for governments to act, until they do, we will continue to demand truth, justice, and accountability for every life lost in custody.”
By Rudi Maxwell of NITV
