The Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody (IAPDC) have published the latest statistical analysis of recorded deaths in custody between 2017 and 2021.

Some key findings from the report include:

• People in custody are at a significantly elevated risk of death compared with the general population.
• While numbers of deaths in police custody remain low, its rate of death is comparable to prisons and detention under the Mental Health Act, if the approximate length of time spent in detention is factored in
• Prisons have the highest number of deaths, with an average of 322 per year over the five-year period.
• When rates are considered, people detained under the Mental Health Act have the highest mortality rate across custody, including three times higher than prisons.
• People in custody under the age of 40 have the highest rate of suicide and other unnatural deaths.
• Men continue to have a significantly higher rate of overall deaths across all custody settings, particularly in prisons and police custody.