May to begin independent review of deaths in custody

AN INDEPENDENT review of deaths in police custody is to be launched by the Government, the Home Secretary will announce today, including a thorough examination of how police officers use force to restrain suspects.

Theresa May will reveal she is to ask a campaign group called Inquest, which has represented scores of families in cases against the police, to play a “formal role” in the review.

She will say that the new project will be led by someone willing to “ask difficult questions”.

Its remit will include the “lead-up” and aftermath of deaths and serious incidents in custody, as well as official investigations, she will say. It will also look at the use of restraint techniques, incident investigation and current support for families of the deceased.

Mrs May is expected to say: “In my time as Home Secretary, I have been struck by the pain and suffering of families still looking for answers, who have encountered not compassion and redress from the authorities, but what they feel is evasiveness and obstruction. I have also heard first-hand the frustration of police officers and staff, whose mission it is to help people but whose training and procedures can end up causing bureaucracy and delay.

“No one – least of all police officers – wants such incidents to happen, and I know everyone involved takes steps to avoid them. But when such incidents do occur, every single one represents a failure and has the potential to undermine dramatically the relationship between the public and the police.”

According to Inquest, so far this year in England and Wales there have been 10 deaths in police custody, or following other forms of contact with the police, including pursuits and road traffic incidents.