Police crash deaths reach 13-year high

Aperson is killed in a road traffic accident involving the police every nine days on average. New figures published by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) revealed there were 42 of these fatalities in 2018/19. That is up from 29 recorded the year before and marks a 13-year high. Thirty of the fatalities occurred as a result of a police pursuit and five were related to emergency calls. The remaining seven deaths happened in response to other police traffic related activity. Overall, 283 people died during or following contact with police forces across England and Wales in 2018/19. In addition to the 42 road traffic deaths, three people were fatally shot by police in 2018/19. There were 63 apparent suicides following release from custody. A further 16 people died during or following time spent in police custody. This includes situations where injuries that contributed to the person’s death happened in custody as well as medical problems that developed while the person was in custody. The remaining 152 people died in “other” ways following contact with police that didn’t involve an arrest or section under the Mental Health Act. This includes deaths after police were called to attend domestic incidents and deaths of people trying to avoid arrest. Deborah Coles, director of Inquest, which supports the families of people who have died after contact with police, said: “The Angiolini review [into deaths and serious incidents in police custody] made pragmatic recommendations to ensure safer responses to people with mental ill health and addictions. “Two years on, the government reports little progress in these areas. “The fact that the majority of recent deaths relate to these vulnerabilities shows the cost of such failures, and the importance of a public healthfocused response. “Ultimately to prevent further deaths and harm, we must look beyond policing and redirect resources into community, health, welfare and specialist services.” Michael Lockwood, director general of the IOPC, said: “These deaths have a tragic and lifelong impact on the family and friends of those who have died, and the police officers who are involved. “It is of critical importance that we analyse the circumstances of each and identify if there are lessons to be learnt in the hope we can prevent future deaths from occurring.”