The government has today (Tuesday 20 July) published an
update on the significant work undertaken to prevent deaths
in police custody in response to a major review.
The update shows that 65 recommendations have been
implemented in full following Dame Elish Angiolini’s 2017
Review of Deaths and Serious Incidents in Police Custody. A
further 20 recommendations have been completed in part.
To date the government has:
- substantially reduced the use of police custody as a
place of safety for people undergoing a mental health
crisis, with a 98% reduction since 2012/13
- introduced a major package of reforms to improve the
effectiveness of the police complaints and discipline
systems in order to increase accountability
- rolled out liaison and diversion services to ensure the
needs of vulnerable people in police custody are identified
and addressed
- introduced legislation to increase the oversight and
management of the use of force in mental health units, so
that force is only ever used as a last resort.
Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice, said:
Every death in police custody is a tragedy which has a
devastating impact on loved ones.
We have a zero-tolerance attitude towards these rare, but
devastating incidents and I am pleased to see the
substantive progress that had been made so far in
tackling deaths in custody.
Dame Elish Angiolini’s review has been a catalyst for
change, and I am determined that we continue to hold
organisations to account and improve support for
families.
As part of the work to address Dame Elish’s report, the
Ministry of Justice has undertaken a range of work to make
inquests more sympathetic to the needs of bereaved people,
including updating materials to aid families throughout the
coronial process.
The College of Policing has published guidelines for police
on conflict management, including de-escalation and
negotiations to promote safer resolutions to conflicts. The
College has also updated their training to cover acute
behavioural disturbance and introduced guidance on the role
of a safety officer to monitor the use of restraint.
The government will continue to implement the Review’s
remaining recommendations, under the governance of the
Ministerial Board on Deaths in Custody (MBDC), and provide
updates on progress to Parliament.
The full government update on our action to prevent deaths in
police custody
