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Many of those dying during or after police contact have known vulnerabilities, and the police and other agencies need to be better at identifying and managing them, said the IPCC, releasing the twelfth annual deaths statistics.

• 14 people died in police custody in 2015/16 (i.e. after arrest or while in detention). This is lower than last year, and around the average for the last few years – less than half the number recorded before the IPCC was set up. But, as in previous years, half of them had known mental health concerns and 86% had links to drugs and/or alcohol.
• 60 people apparently committed suicide after custody. This is lower than last year, but still the fourth highest figure since 2004/05. More than half of them had known mental health concerns and nearly half had drugs and/or alcohol concerns.  
• The IPCC investigated 102 ‘other’ deaths (not in or after custody, or as a result of shooting or road traffic incidents). 90% of them were people who had died after the police had been notified of a concern for their welfare, for example they were missing or at risk of domestic violence or self-harm.

Dame Anne Owers, Chair of the IPCC, said:

“These figures show the range and scale of the vulnerabilities that underlie the majority of deaths during or after police contact, and the strong link with mental illness. The police need to be able to identify these vulnerabilities and risks, in order to manage them.

“There have been considerable improvements in the custody environment, reflected in the statistics, but there is further to go, particularly in assessing  and managing risk and ensuring that information is passed on within the police service and to other agencies. Custody staff should be professionally valued within the police service, with support and training for the challenging role they take on. It’s equally vital that other police officers and staff are able to recognise and act on vulnerability, when making an arrest or prioritising police response in a call centre. As our investigations, and HMIC’s inspections show, forces do not always have a clear and consistent understanding of vulnerability and how to manage it.

 “However, the responsibility does not just lie with the police service. Time and again, the police deal with people whose needs and risks have not been picked up or managed in the community. It is welcome that the use of police custody under the Mental Health Act has dropped considerably and the Policing and Crime Bill is set to ban this practice for children and make it exceptional for adults. That will require a significant increase in appropriate and available alternative provision.”