12. Deaths in police and prison custody

Question 1

What defines custody?

Answer 1

while detained ina police office
while held in prison

but also… being transported to either of these places,
being arrested at home or in a public place,
being pursued by a police vehicle,
being treated in hospital while still a prisoner

Question 2

How do people die in police custody? (5)

Answer 2

1. alcohol or drugs
2. suicide
3. unsuspected trauma
4. natural disease
5. restraint

Question 3

Death from alcohol/drugs intoxication in custody happens because…

Answer 3

the person either secretly brought them in and consumed or they died from continuiing effects e.g. inhalation of vomit or the delayed effects of drugs

Question 4

from what height can hanging be done?

Answer 4

doesn’t matter, low suspension point is also ok, it is not necessary to have the feet of the ground, so long as there is still sufficient body weight pulling down on the ligature.

Question 5

what are types of methods of suicide in custody? (5)

Answer 5

1. hanging
2. self-gaging by stuffing clothing or something else in the mouth
3. cutting injuries
4. starting a fire
5. taking a deliberate overdose before arrest

Question 6

what is unsuspected trauma

Answer 6

injury which is not obvious, usually head injury, typically subdural hemorrhage

Question 7

what differs alcohol intoxication form cranial hemorrhage

Answer 7

person’s conscious level becomes worse over time as blood clot builds up instead of vice versa

Question 8

what are some hidden injuries that could be present in death in custody

Answer 8

1. subdural hemorrhage/head injury
2. chest injury (fractured ribs)
3. ruptured spleen or liver

Question 9

commonest causes for natural disease death in custody (3)

Answer 9

1. ischemic heart disease
2. epilepsy
3. asthma

Question 10

what are restraint injuries?

Answer 10

Injuries or other harm (e.g. asphyxia) inflicted while being arrested or subdued.

• generally uncommon, but guaranteed to get media attention
• deaths that really need to be exposed and fully investigated as the police or other authorities may be criminally responsible

Question 11

what are main mechanisms involved in restraint injuries? (5)

Answer 11

• direct blows to the head or body
• crush/positional asphyxia
• neck holds
• teasers, “rubber bullets”, sprays
• drug administration

Question 12

In people who die while being restraind by the police the cause of death is often multifactorial, involivng a combination of ____, ____ and _____.

Answer 12

alcohol intoxication,
asphyxia and
the effects of a violent struggle with
an adrenaline rush

Question 13

what is understood under police vehicle pursuit death?

Answer 13

▪ Police pursuing offending drivers who then crash and are killed … or pedestrians or
other motorists who are innocently killed during the police response
▪ Actually accounts for the greatest number of ‘custody deaths’ in the UK each year