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© Copyright, Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody (IAPDC) 2026.

IAPDC Chair’s end of term report – February 2026

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Cross cutting

IAPDC Chair, Lynn Emslie, highlights achievements and continuing challenges in preventing deaths in custody at the end of her term. 

Lynn Emslie, Chair of the IAPDC, has today published her end‑of‑term report covering her tenure from February 2023 to February 2026. The report sets out the Panel’s work with Government and custody settings to reduce preventable deaths across prisons, policing, immigration detention, Approved Premises and Mental Health Act (MHA) detention. 

In the report’s foreword, Lynn emphasises the continued urgency of this work: 

“Deaths in custody remain unacceptably high across all settings – a stark reminder of why our work is so critical. Safeguarding the lives of those detained by the state requires robust oversight, collaboration, and a relentless focus on learning. As my term comes to an end, I am grateful to my fellow Panel members, our secretariat and all those dedicated to protecting vulnerable people. It has been a privilege to serve as Chair and I leave confident that the Panel will continue to make a vital difference.” 

The report highlights achievements, such as:  

  • Developing national guidance, with the College of Policing and National Police Chiefs’ Council, to provide a clear framework for police forces across England and Wales to embed suicide prevention in every stage of the custody process – see guidance here.  
  • Publishing a report that presents predictive modelling linking growing population pressures to a projected 21% rise in self‑inflicted deaths by 2029, highlighting the need for targeted mental healthcare and suicide‑prevention measures – see report here. 
  • Publishing new research on ligature‑related deaths and calling for a coordinated ligature‑prevention strategy across the prison estate – see report here. 
  • Publishing a report calling for an independent investigative mechanism for deaths in MHA detention, highlighting the disparity with other custody settings and the loss of critical learning under the current system – see report here. 

You can read the full end-of-term report here.