Official statistics published today reveal the highest number of deaths in and following police custody recorded for 17 years.
The latest annual data from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) covering 2023/4 shows 24 deaths in and following police custody. There was an increase of one death from the previous year. Of those who died, all but one were men.
Fourteen of these 24 people had some use of force against them by the police before their deaths. Three of these included Taser discharge.
Of the 24 people who died, 19 had mental health issues, with one having been detained under the Mental Health Act, and 21 had links to drugs and/or alcohol.
The IOPC distinguish between deaths in and following police custody, and other deaths following police contact. In addition to deaths in and following police custody, there were:
- 2 fatal police shootings
- 32 road traffic fatalities, of which 24 were police pursuit cases
- 68 apparent suicides following police custody
- 60 other deaths following police contact, eight of these involved restraint or other use of force by police.
Behind the statistics are those who died at the hands of the police. In the year 2023/24, those that died included:
- Giedrius Vasiljevas, a 40-year-old Lithuanian national, died after he was shot by a Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officer on 23 November 2023 after threatening to take his own life.
- Daniel Cooper, 40, died on 14 July 2023 after being found unresponsive in his cell in Hammersmith and Fulham police station. He had been arrested two days earlier.
Deborah Coles, Director at INQUEST, said: “No one should by dying at the hands of police. Yet every year, more people are dying in and following police custody.
Inquests and investigations uncover issues of disproportionate use of force, and neglect of people in need of care not custody. Yet police continue to fail to enact learning.
The fact that the majority of these deaths relate to mental ill health and drugs and alcohol reiterate the urgent need for a community health and not a policing response.
Ultimately to prevent further deaths and harm, we must look beyond policing and redirect resources into community, health, welfare and specialist drug and alcohol services.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
For further information and interview requests please contact Leila Hagmann on 020 7263 1111 or l
[email protected].
See the full report of the IOPC data, which includes further breakdowns on the data.
Ethnicity:
- of the 24 deaths in or following custody, 21 of the deceased were White, one was Black, one was of Mixed ethnicity, and one was of another ethnicity.
- of the 14 deaths in or following custody where there was use of force, 13 of the deceased were White and one was of Mixed ethnicity.
- of the eight other deaths following police contact which involved use of force, six of the deceased were White and two were Black.
INQUEST also publishes rolling statistics on deaths in or following police custody and contact.
Inquest Responds To Highest Number Of Deaths In And Following Police Custody For 17 Years
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Official statistics published today reveal the highest number of deaths in and following police custody recorded for 17 years.
The latest annual data from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) covering 2023/4 shows 24 deaths in and following police custody. There was an increase of one death from the previous year. Of those who died, all but one were men.
Fourteen of these 24 people had some use of force against them by the police before their deaths. Three of these included Taser discharge.
Of the 24 people who died, 19 had mental health issues, with one having been detained under the Mental Health Act, and 21 had links to drugs and/or alcohol.
The IOPC distinguish between deaths in and following police custody, and other deaths following police contact. In addition to deaths in and following police custody, there were:
Behind the statistics are those who died at the hands of the police. In the year 2023/24, those that died included:
Deborah Coles, Director at INQUEST, said: “No one should by dying at the hands of police. Yet every year, more people are dying in and following police custody.
Inquests and investigations uncover issues of disproportionate use of force, and neglect of people in need of care not custody. Yet police continue to fail to enact learning.
The fact that the majority of these deaths relate to mental ill health and drugs and alcohol reiterate the urgent need for a community health and not a policing response.
Ultimately to prevent further deaths and harm, we must look beyond policing and redirect resources into community, health, welfare and specialist drug and alcohol services.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
For further information and interview requests please contact Leila Hagmann on 020 7263 1111 or l [email protected].
See the full report of the IOPC data, which includes further breakdowns on the data.
Ethnicity:
INQUEST also publishes rolling statistics on deaths in or following police custody and contact.
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