Practitioner and Stakeholder Group
The Ministerial Council on Deaths in Custody is made up of a Ministerial Board on Deaths in Custody, the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody, and a Practitioner and Stakeholder Group (PSG). This group is drawn from inspectorate and investigative bodies, lawyers, third sector organisations, families, academics and practitioners from the custodial sectors. The Panel would like to encourage practitioners from a range of organisations, particularly mental health settings, as well as families to join the group.
As a member of the group you can expect to receive regular communication with links to relevant news and publications from across the sectors; updates from the IAPDC website and invitations to stakeholder events.
Join the Practitioner and Stakeholder Group here (link opens in new window)
IAPDC newsletter
The IAPDC regularly publishes a newsletter, containing information about work progressed against the yearly work plan.
Read the IAPDC Winter Newsletter (December 2021) here (opens as PDF in a new window)
Calls to action
The IAPDC regularly makes calls for members of the PSG to feed in to key pieces of work. Below you will find the latest calls to action. Please contact us at iap@justice.gov.uk with your contributions and suggestions.
NEW: Prisons White Paper
The Ministry of Justice’s new Prisons Strategy White Paper sets out the department’s strategy for prisons over the next two years as well as a longer-term 10-year vision. The strategy includes some welcome proposals and contains footholds for reform. The IAPDC believes that it should include a clear, unequivocal commitment to protect lives and keep people safe. The prevention of avoidable deaths – both natural and self-inflicted – must be a top priority for government.
The White Paper invites responses to a number of questions. We would encourage PSG members to contribute to this consultation, which closes on 4 February 2022, as well as to highlight to the panel key areas concerning the prevention of deaths in custody that you want the IAPDC to emphasise in our response.
Omicron variant
The IAPDC is gathering information for the forthcoming public inquiry into the COVID-19 pandemic. We will identify and acknowledge where effective action has been taken to protect the lives of people in custody and staff responsible for their care, as well as draw attention to specific instances where expert clinical, scientific and operational advice has been ignored and important opportunities missed.
Please update the IAPDC on work you are doing to keep people safe from Omicron and alert us to concerns you want raised with ministers and senior officials.
Statistical analysis of recorded deaths in custody
The IAPDC has published its latest statistical bulletin providing a breakdown of all recorded deaths in custody in England and Wales from the start of 2016 to the end of 2019 in the following settings: prisons, immigration removal centres, police custody, and secure health settings (patients detained under the Mental Health Act).
For the first time, the analysis assesses deaths in custody through the perspective of population rates, which allows for further interpretation above straightforward consideration of total numbers.
We welcome your thoughts on the content and methodology of the panel’s new statistical analysis.