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Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody

We are an advisory non-departmental public body co-sponsored by the Ministry of Justice, the Home Office, and the Department of Health and Social Care with the central aim of preventing deaths in custody.

Death rates in prisons and under the Mental Health Act disproportionately high.

The IAPDC has published its latest statistical analysis of deaths in custody which finds that people in state detention are at a significantly increased risk of death compared with the general population, with the rates of deaths in prisons and Mental Health Act detention particularly high.

Statistics

  • In the 12 months to June 2024, there were 308 deaths in prison custody. 85 of these deaths were self-inflicted.
  • There were 14 deaths of offenders with residence in Approved Premises in 2022/23.
  • Providers have notified the CQC that 264 people died while detained under the Mental Health Act between April 2022 and March 2023.
  • In 2022/23, 23 people died in or following police custody. There were 52 apparent suicides during this same period.
  • In 2023 there were two deaths of people detained under Immigration Act Powers.