IPCC Releases Report On Deaths During Or Following Police Contact

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has published its annual report on deaths during or following police contact in 2014/15.

The report shows there were 17 deaths in or following police custody in 2014/15.

This is an increase from 11 last year, which was the lowest level since the IPCC began recording in 2004/05.

Further findings in the report include:

• One fatal police shooting, the first in three years.

• 14 road traffic fatalities, continuing a downward trend, particularly in relation to pursuit-related deaths,of which there were seven.

• 69 apparent suicides following custody, continuing the rise in recent years, which may be related to improved identification and reporting.

• The IPCC investigated 41 other deaths following contact with the police in a wide range of circumstances, including 26 people who died after concerns were raised with the police about their safety or well-being.

The report found mental health and links to drugs or alcohol were common factors among many of those who died:

• Eight of the 17 people who died in or after police custody and half of those apparently committing suicide after custody had mental health concerns.

• All but one of those who died, and over a third of those who apparently committed suicide following custody, had links to drugs or alcohol.

IPCC Chair Dame Anne Owens said: "The police face particular challenges in dealing with people who are mentally ill, or under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

"I welcome the efforts being made to ensure that those who need medical assistance do not end up in police cells but are dealt with in an appropriate healthcare setting."

However, Dame Anne Owens added the IPCC's investigations have 'too often exposed the same issues'.

The Home Secretary Theresa May has recently announced a review into police custody deaths in England and Wales.

She said: "I have been struck by the pain and suffering of families still looking for answers, who have encountered not compassion and redress from the authorities but what they feel is evasiveness and obstruction."

(LM)