Death after Police Contact: Constructing Accountability in the 21st Century

• In Event: Police Behavior and Accountability

Abstract

This paper focuses on the issue of death after police contact in England and Wales. It examines documentary data from police regulators in these cases, namely Coroners’ courts and the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). In the period 2004-15 a total of 1539 citizens died after police contact in England and Wales (IPCC 2016). The great majority of these deaths are citizens who have mental health issues, come from Black, or Minority Ethnic (BME) backgrounds, or have substance dependency issues. The paper argues that the type of forum that constructs accountability in these cases largely determines the content of the accountability is produced. It argues that the ‘system’ of accountability construction is essentially non-systematic and constructs accountability in a relatively arbitrary manner. This means that lessons about such deaths tend not to be learned, and consequently future deaths are not prevented, despite an increasing focus on this issue from society, the state and police regulators. The paper proposes that these deaths are better imagined as public health emergencies, and that focusing principally on police in these cases overlooks systemic issues in society and the provision of public services.

Author

• David Baker, Coventry University (UK)