Deaths in police custody reach five-year high

Watchdog warns of over-reliance on police as first responders in dealing with vulnerable people in crisis

A dozen more people died in the latest year than the year before in or after being detained (Getty Images)

Twenty-three people have died in or following police custody in 12 months – the highest number for five years, official figures show.

The tally, for the period covering April 2022 to 31 March this year, was an increase of 12 on 2021-22, and the highest since 2017-18.

There were also 28 deaths from 26 police-related road traffic incidents – a fall of 12 on the year before.

The figures, contained in the annual report on deaths in England and Wales during or following police contact in 2022-23 by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), also show there were 52 apparent suicides following police custody, a drop of five year-on-year.

The police watchdog said the sharp rise in deaths linked to custody was concerning and raised challenges well beyond policing.

Acting director general of the IOPC Tom Whiting said there was an over-reliance on the police as first responders in dealing with vulnerable people in crisis and called for concerted action across agencies to help prevent deaths.

Earlier this week, police laid out plans to drastically reduce the number of mental health callouts officers deal with, putting the onus back onto healthcare staff.

The report shows that of the 23 deaths in or following custody, 13 people had mental health concerns with four having been detained under the Mental Health Act, and 21 had links to drugs and/or alcohol.

Some 19 of the dead were white, two were Black, one was of mixed ethnicity and one was Asian.

Force had been used against 11 of the 23 people who died in or following police custody.

A dozen people were taken ill at the scene of arrest. Eight of those were taken to hospital, where they later died, and four died at the scene.

Police shot three people dead in the latest year, compared with two the previous year, the report says.

Almost two-thirds (55) of those who died following other police contact were reported to be intoxicated with drugs and/or alcohol at the time, “or it featured heavily in their lifestyle”.

Of the 28 road traffic deaths, 12 were of the driver or passenger in the pursued vehicle, and five people were in unrelated vehicles hit by the car being chased.

The average age of those who died as either driver or passenger in a fleeing vehicle was 28.

Half of the 52 people who apparently took their own lives had been arrested for an alleged sexual offence – and all but two of the 26 involved alleged offences against children.

Mr Whiting said people who died in or following custody had vulnerabilities that were consistent, common factors year on year.

“It is notable that in several of the deaths, police officers have attended to people who are in the midst of a medical episode, and in some cases restrain them, while waiting for an ambulance,” he said.

“Police officers cannot be expected to demonstrate the medical expertise necessary to best care for an individual in such circumstances...

“It is clear there is an over-reliance on the police service as first responders in dealing with vulnerable people in crisis.”