Sixteen deaths after ‘contact’ with Nottinghamshire Police in last five years

Every year, the Independent Office for Police Conduct releases figures on the number of deaths following contact with police forces.

They show between April 2017 and March 2022, 16 people died after contact with Nottinghamshire Police, including two in 2021-22 – although there is no suggestion the force did anything wrong in any of the cases.

Of the deaths recorded since 2017, four happened in police custody and one was the result of a road traffic accident involving police.

There were also six apparent suicides which happened after police contact – and Nottinghamshire Police was also involved in a suicide which happened after contact with the British Transport Police.

A further five deaths that involved Nottinghamshire Police occurred during other incidents the IOPC has investigated, which can include police helping medical staff restrain someone, or if officers are called to an incident that later results in a fatality.

The force said they have a duty of care, including to people in custody, which they take ‘very seriously’.

Assistant Chief Constable Rob Griffin, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Any death is a tragedy that has a profound effect on people’s family and loved ones.

“Deaths following contact with the police are thankfully increasingly rare and – as the public would rightly expect – are each thoroughly investigated by an independent body in order to prevent such incidents from happening again.

“As police officers, we have a duty of care to everyone we come into contact with, including suspects in criminal investigations.

“We are working every day to ensure those people are safeguarded and supported as well as they can be through the investigative process.”

Michael Lockwood, IOPC director-general, welcomed the drop in deaths in police custody – falling from 19 across the country in 2020-21 to 11 last year – but added that there had been a concerning rise in deaths from road traffic accidents.

Across England and Wales there were 39 fatalities in road traffic accidents involving police in the year to March, compared with 25 the year before, although Nottinghamshire Police were not involved in any.

Mr Lockwood said a ‘system-wide’ response was necessary to tackle deaths in police custody, highlighting mental health, drug and alcohol problems are prevalent among those who have lost their lives in the last year.

He said: “We need to ensure appropriate health and social services are available to meet the needs of those in crisis, particularly in response to issues of mental health.

“We also need to ensure police custody is as safe as possible, and to better train officers to de-escalate in conflict situations where feasible.”

Nev Kemp, lead for custody at the National Police Chiefs' Council, which represents senior police staff, said incidents are ‘always fully investigated, scrutinised and lessons are learnt’.

He said: “While we cannot eliminate all risks, we aim to ensure those that find themselves in custody are cared for, treated fairly, with as much dignity as possible.”