After a death in custody

 When someone dies in custody it can have a significant impact on those around them and may leave questions about what happens next. In this article, we focus on what happens after a death in prison, what investigations take place, how you can feed your concerns into the process if you want to, and how to get support if you need it. This information is set out in the Follow-up to Deaths in Custody Policy Framework. 

If someone dies in custody, it triggers several investigations:

• prisons must carry out an Early Learning Review (ELR) in cases of apparently self-inflicted death or unexpected death, to identify immediate learning. 
• police will gather facts about the death on behalf of the coroner and, if necessary, undertake a criminal investigation.
• the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, and his or her staff – known collectively as the PPO – investigate all deaths in custody, regardless of cause. The PPO are independent of the prison service. They investigate the circumstances of the death and produce a report setting out their findings, with recommendations for any actions required to mitigate the risk of further deaths.
• a coroner’s inquest will take place. This is a public hearing, sometimes with a jury, where an independent coroner looks at the facts of a death to understand who died, when and where they died, and how it happened. It does not involve deciding blame or guilt.

Prisons must cooperate fully with all these investigations. This includes facilitating access for investigators, providing relevant documents, and enabling interviews with prisoners and staff.

Shortly after the death, the prison should display a notice about the PPO investigation around the prison, inviting anyone with relevant information to contact the PPO directly. The PPO investigator may then ask to interview you. They may also want to interview people who knew the prisoner who died, and those living in cells close by. You should not face any negative consequences for speaking to the PPO.

If you have an interview with the PPO, it will normally take place within sight, but out of the hearing of staff, unless you or the PPO, request that it takes place within hearing. You may be allowed to have a friend or adviser present, so long as that person would normally be allowed to visit you. The PPO will normally provide a written summary of the interview to any prisoner interviewed. If the PPO wishes to speak to you by telephone, they will contact the prison to arrange this. You must not lose pay as a result of an interview or telephone conversation that takes place at the request of the PPO.

If you think you have important information to share with the PPO after someone has died in custody you can do so. You can write to them for free at: 

Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, Third Floor, 10 South Colonnade, London, E14 4PU.

The coroner may also decide to call a prisoner as a witness to the inquest. Prisons are required to facilitate this so that the evidence can be heard in the most appropriate way. 

Prisons must have procedures in place to support prisoners who have been affected by a death in custody. Appropriate care and support must be offered to the cellmate and any other prisoners affected by the death. This includes allowing Listeners to offer support to prisoners on the wing where an unexpected death has occurred and to others who may have been connected to the person who died. 

The policy states that local Samaritans staff must be able to see the Listener team as soon as possible after a death. If a Listener is asked to see the police, Coroner’s Officer, or an investigating officer after a death, Samaritans staff must be given the opportunity to be present at the interview.

If you feel that you have been affected by a death in custody and need support, it is worth speaking to someone about this. You could also speak to:

• prison staff, such as staff on your wing or a keyworker
• staff from the safer custody team
• healthcare staff
• chaplaincy
• a Listener