7 December 201016 December 2022 4WardEverUK

No10 Security refused deaths in custody letter

all credits: David ‘Panda’ Mery
published: 30th October 2010

The United Families and Friends Campaign UFFC, a coalition of families and friends of those who have died in the custody of police, prison and psychiatric hospital officials, organised a procession to Downing Street to give a letter to the Prime Minister. The police refused to let Samantha Rigg-David in Downing Street and they refused to accept it.

The letter was taped to the gate; a copy will be sent by post; it is reproduced below. Whether the decision not to accept the letter was entirely a police operational one or a political one, it showed a shameful lack of respect to those families seeking justice and peace.

The last conviction of a police officer following a death in custody was in 1971 [following the brutal killing of David Oluwale in Leeds].

See the full re-produced letter here >

7 December 201016 December 2022 4WardEverUK

IPCC publish deaths in police custody study

all credits: Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody
published: December 2010

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) have published a major study of 333 deaths in police custody between 1998/99 and 2008/09. The study shows a fall in the number of deaths over an 11 year period and makes a series of recommendations for police forces and health service providers to prevent future tragedies.

In the first year of the study (1998/99) 49 people died in police custody in England and Wales, but by the last year (2008/09) this had fallen to 15. The long term study gathered information about all deaths in custody between 1998/99 and 2008/09, including personal characteristics of those who died, medical factors and the circumstances of their arrest, to identity themes.

7 December 201016 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Custody deaths since 1998: 333; convicted: none

original source: The Guardian
published: 3rd December 2010

A total of 333 people have died in or following police custody over the past 11 years, but no officer has ever been successfully prosecuted, according to a watchdog’s report. Prosecutions were recommended against 13 officers based on “relatively strong evidence of misconduct or neglect”, but none resulted in a guilty verdict.

Calling for further research, the Independent Police Complaints Commission said juries were unwilling to convict police officers. Len Jackson, IPCC interim chair, said: “It is clear to us there is some real difficulty in this area.”

The IPCC had a responsibility to investigate and present a file to the CPS “if we feel there are any matters potentially of a criminal nature”, he said. But then it was up to the criminal justice system.