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.

23 June 201016 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Study launches into alternatives to jail

all credits: Newstart Magazine
published: 21st June 2010

The Howard League and the Prison Governors’ Association have launched a joint project to find ways to reduce the need for short jail terms, as new research shows the damage created under the current sentencing policy.

The probation officers’ union Napo today stepped up its calls for reform as its research found that three-quarters of prisoners serving terms of less than 12 months were reconvicted within two years. It wants short prison sentences to be scrapped and for the money saved to be spent on the supervision of short-term prisoners in the community.