Has the IPCC finally got the message?

The IPCC has unveiled a 61-point plan to vastly improve inquiries into deaths, following contact with police.

The plan includes bolstering the police watchdog’s independence, improving public confidence and becoming more accountable to bereaved families, towards whom it says it lacks “empathy, sensitivity and compassion”.

It follows a year-long review and consultations with families themselves, lawyers, community groups, and police forces.

It’s also in response to the serious shortcomings exposed by a review of an IPCC investigation into the death of Sean Rigg (pictured below).

He was a 40-year-old schizophrenic who died at Brixton police station after being restrained in August 2008, a classic death in custody case.

The failures of the subsequent inquiry included lack of robust analysis, taking six months to interview officers, and then too soft in challenging their accounts – what I described last year as simply the failure to do its duty.

Today’s report partially blames lack of resources for delay in getting to crime scenes and carrying out inquiries. The IPCC Chair Dame Anne Owers said:

“..these changes are not just about processes and guidance. They need to be rooted in a culture of independence and quality assurance, recognising that those directly affected are at the heart of what we do.

“This is also to the benefit of the police themselves – it is clear that, if people do not trust our independence and effectiveness, they will not trust the police service either.”

Over the last nine years, 2004-2013, there have been 196 deaths in or following police custody. Just under half have been investigated by the IPCC itself. Not a single officer has been successfully prosecuted.

Only one has been dismissed for failure of duty in not properly rousing a detainee given the known risks, and a smalll number have had “advice” or a “written warning”.

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