Chapter
Investigating Deaths in Police Custody (IN: Deaths of Offenders: the Hidden Side of Justice, edited by A Liebling)
Cartwright J
This chapter discusses the Police Complaints Authority’s (PCA) role in investigating deaths in police custody in England. The responsibilities of the PCA to establish the facts of the victim’s death, to consider the conduct of the police officers & to determine lessons that can be learned from the tragedy, are detailed. The author expounds on one of the leading causes of death in custody, suicide. Actions the PCA would like police to consider in order to reduce death in custody are given.