The number of deaths in or following police custody in England and Wales has increased significantly, doubling in 12 months to the joint-highest level in the past 16 years, the police watchdog has said.
Figures from the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) showed the number of deaths surged past the 10-year average as it increased from 11 in 2021-22 to 23 the following year.
“Sadly, we have seen a significant rise this year in the number of deaths in or following police custody, up to 23 from 11, and the highest figure recorded for five years,” said the IOPC’s acting director general, Tom Whiting.
“While last year’s figure was particularly low, the fact we have seen a sharp reverse is concerning and raises challenges which spread well beyond policing.”
The figure is the highest since 2017-18 when there were also 23 fatalities. The worst year was 2006-07, when 27 deaths were reported. The average number of deaths in a year during the past decade was about 16.
Of the 23 people who died in or following police custody, 22 were men and one was a woman. The age range varied from 20 to 93 years old, with 19 victims being white, two black, one of mixed ethnicity and one Asian. The absolute numbers of deaths meant no meaningful comparison with the racial and ethnic mix of the general population could be drawn.
Mental health concerns were prevalent among those who died, with 13 people having conditions such as depression, psychosis, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder and self-harming.
Additionally, four people had been detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 and 21 out of 23 individuals were known to have a link to alcohol and/or drugs at the time of their arrest.
Whiting noted that, when vulnerable people in need of specialist care suffered a crisis, “far too often their needs are not met by other services, and they come into contact with a police service which isn’t designed or equipped to provide for them”.
He said: “I am not alone in calling again for concerted action across agencies to help prevent these deaths wherever possible. It is clear there is an over-reliance on the police service as first responders in dealing with vulnerable people in crisis.
“Police chiefs have expressed understandable concern about the heavy demand placed on their resources in dealing with mental health incidents. We welcome any initiative that ensures that people in distress are receiving the most appropriate service from the most appropriate agency.”
He said the IOPC would monitor the development of the “right care, right person” scheme, a new national strategy for the police’s role in mental health emergencies, as it was rolled out across police forces. Under the scheme, police are deployed only to the most essential mental health-related calls, with the rest diverted to dedicated health professionals.
Whiting urged police leaders and those in health and justice systems to “work closely together to improve arrangements for frontline healthcare and mental health support”.
The IOPC oversees the police complaints system in England and Wales.
Lucy McKay, a spokesperson for the charity Inquest, which helps families who have lost a loved one after contact with police, said: “No one should be dying at the hands of police, yet once again we are seeing an increasing number of deaths.
“Too often these deaths involve mental illness or intoxication, and dangerous use of force and restraint by police. We know from our work with bereaved families that so many of these deaths are preventable, both at the point of death and long before things reached a crisis point.”
