MINISTRY OF JUSTICE
News Release (044/09) issued by COI News Distribution Service on 27
March 2009
The Forum for
Preventing Deaths in Custody is today publishing its second annual
report. The Forum, an independently chaired body comprised of key
government and non-government stakeholders, exists to learn
lessons from deaths in custody across the various custodial
settings and to prevent the recurrence of such deaths.
The Forum's report summarises its work over the past year
and suggests a number of issues it considers warrant further work
by the Independent Advisory Panel, which forms part of the
Ministerial Council on Deaths in Custody and will replace the
Forum in April.
Justice Minister Shahid Malik MP, who will chair the new
Ministerial Council on Deaths in Custody, today welcomed the
2007/08 Annual Report of the Forum for Preventing Deaths in Custody.
Shahid Malik said:
"Every death in custody is a personal tragedy for those who
are left behind. Reducing deaths in custody remains a priority for
the government, and that is why we have supported a radical
overhaul of the machinery for dealing with this important issue.
"The new Ministerial Council on Deaths in Custody will
commence work in April 2009. I am keen to build on the good work
of the Forum for Preventing Deaths in Custody, and to further
contribute to our learning from deaths in custody across all
custodial settings in a bid to reduce the number of those deaths".
John Wadham, Forum Chair and Group Legal Director for the
Equality & Human Rights Commission, said:
"This report, the Forum's final publication, is a
timely record of the steady progress made in many important areas
in which the Forum has played a key role. The report also
acknowledges that there is still much work to be done and offers
suggestions of the key areas still in need of development.
"I am grateful to all those who have contributed to the
Forum's work since it was set up in 2005 and hope that the
new Ministerial Council on Deaths in Custody will carefully
consider the issues we have raised in this final report."
Notes to Editors
1. The Report records a slight increase in the number of deaths
across all custodial sectors in England and Wales, from 550 during
2006/07 to 577 during 2007/08. The number of deaths remains lower
than in 2004/2005 and 2005/2006, which were 590 and 586 respectively.
2. The establishment of the new Ministerial Council on Deaths in
Custody was announced by the Ministry of Justice in July 2008. It
will replace the existing Forum for Preventing Deaths in Custody
and Ministerial Council on Deaths in Custody. It will become
operational in April 2009
3. The Forum for Preventing Deaths in Custody is independently
chaired and made up of key government and non-government
stakeholders. It exists to learn lessons from deaths in custody
across the various custodial settings, to help prevent future deaths
4. Learning these lessons will continue to be central to the work
of the new Ministerial Council. From April 2009, members of the
existing Forum and Roundtable, as well as other stakeholders and
independent experts, will instead sit on the Ministerial Council
5. Further information on the Forum, and its 2007/08 Annual
Report, can be found at the Forum website, http://www.preventingcustodydeaths.org.uk