The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) stressed, throughout its work, the central need for action to stem the number of deaths in custody and to substantially reduce the gross over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in all forms of custody. It recommended that the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) monitor deaths in custody nationally, on an ongoing basis. It went on to recommend that the results of this monitoring be reported upon annually to the Commonwealth Parliament. Regular reports have been prepared and disseminated by the National Deaths in Custody Monitoring and Research Program at the AIC since the program's inception in 1992.