4 February 202115 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Proportion of BAME children in UK youth custody at record high

source: The Guardian
published: 28 January 2021

Self-harm and use of restraint are increasingly commonplace in the youth justice system, according to government figures that also show a record-high proportion of children in youth custody are from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

The government’s annual youth justice statistics, published on Thursday, show that more than half of young people in custody are black, Asian or from a minority ethnic background (BAME), a situation that the shadow justice secretary, David Lammy, described as a “national scandal”.

15 January 202115 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Family waits seven years for answers over the death of Leon Briggs

all credits: ITV News
published: 13 January 2021

A family’s seven year wait for answers over the death of Leon Briggs after being taken into police custody has started at an inquest in Milton Keynes.

The 39-year-old father of two was detained at Luton police station in 2013. He was later found unconscious in his cell and taken to hospital where he died.

Opening the inquest in Milton Keynes, coroner Emma Whitting said no family should have to wait the length of time Leon Briggs’ family has, to learn how their loved-one died.

15 January 202115 December 2022 4WardEverUK

Update on investigation into Sean Fitzgerald’s death two years on

all credits: CoventryLive
published: 5 January 2021

The investigation in to the shooting of Sean Fitzgerald by police in Coventry is still ongoing – two years after his death. Mr Fitzgerald suffered a a single gunshot wound to the chest as officers carried out a raid at an address on Burnaby Road, in Holbrooks, on January 4, 2019.

The warrant was executed by the West Midlands Regional Organised Crime Unit and West Midlands Police, in support of a Warwickshire Police investigation.

During the incident, the 31-year-old was shot by armed police. An investigation was launched by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which routinely investigates incidents which result in death following police contact.