Let's be clear about deaths in custody

A Forum for Preventing Deaths in Custody has just been established, hence the profiling of the issue. The presenter registered that, last year alone, there had been some 600 deaths in prison, police, immigration and hospital custsody. This was followed by the voice of a mother whose young son had, tragically, died in youth custody. Two of the key issues she raised were the very limited training given to those who work in the institutions where her son had committed suicide, and the precipitous use of restraint techniques.

The subsequent debate between the professional and the politician, mediated (if that is the right word) by the presenter, took the usual form.

A review of restraint was in process, said the politician. There were too many people in custody, said the professional. This was why deaths in custody had gone up, said the presenter.

No they hadn't, said the politician. Yes, numerically, they had, contested the presenter. Agreed, said the politician, but proportionately (in relation to the rise in custody) they had gone down. The discussion went round and round and objective "facts" were hard to find.

So let me try to be clear, because sloppy reporting and commentary is absolutely unforgivable if we are talking about any preventable deaths in custody, especially when they relate to children and the additional responsibilities for care and protection within the youth justice system.

There were some 600 deaths in custody last year. About 400 of these were what might be called "natural" deaths, though we do not know fully whether the experience of prison accelerated them. Some 200 were not natural deaths and many of these were suicides. Some were through restraint.

A recent Parliamentary debate alleged that 10 young people died in youth custody last year. These were young people aged 18 to 21. The fact is that, within the youth justice system for 10- to 17-year-olds, there have, touch wood, been no deaths in custody for the past two years. It would have been helpful if the radio discussion had testified to this.

- Howard Williamson is professor of European youth policy at the University of Glamorgan, and a member of the Youth Justice Board. Email howard.williamson@haymarket.com.