In a move to increase public confidence in the police, Home Secretary Theresa May is expected later this afternoon (23 July) to launch an independent review of deaths in police custody.
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The home secretary is due to announce her plans today in a keynote speech looking at the relationship between the public and the police service, which she is keen to improve.
It will also look at the lead-up to and aftermath of fatalities and serious incidents including support given to bereaved families.
The last time the figure was higher was in 2010/11, when it stood at 21.
Last year figures showed that the number of suicides after being released from police custody reached its highest level for 10 years, with 68 people apparently taking their own lives within two days of being arrested or detained in 2013/14.
IPCC chairman Dame Anne Owers said: ‘Regrettably, our investigations have too often exposed the same issues: inadequate risk assessments; token checks on a person in custody; insufficient hand-overs between custody staff; a failure to recognise or properly deal with people with mental health concerns or substance abuse issues; poor liaison between police and other agencies.’.
But Inquest, a charity that campaigns on behalf of the families of people who die in state custody, said that it could become “another review that fails to produce practical recommendations and whose report gathers dust”. Last year’s total of 11 was the lowest since recording began in 2004/5. The number of deaths during or after police custody, which are treated separately to suicides, fell to 11.
One of those consulted over the probe was Marcia Rigg, whose brother Sean Rigg died in 2008 in Brixton Police Station after suffering a psychotic episode and prolonged restraint by officers. Fifteen were white, one was of Asian ethnicity and one was from a black background. Drugs and alcohol were also said to be a factor in a number of the deaths.
Alex Marshall, head of the College of Policing, said: “Any death that occurs following police contact is a tragedy and it is right that every incident is scrutinised to see where these tragedies could have been prevented”.
“Northumbria Police takes its commitment to the welfare of prisoners extremely seriously”.
Ajibola Lewis, whose 23-year-old son Olaseni Lewis died in September 2010 after he was restrained in a southeast London psychiatric hospital, accused authorities of “deep-seated and repeated failures”.
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And she vowed to find an independent chair who will be prepared to uncover the truth about deaths in custody.
