HL Deb 24 January 2000 vol 608 cc1325-7

3 p.m.

Baroness Whitaker

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What proportion of those who die in custody are black or Asian.

Lord Bassam of Brighton

My Lords, for England and Wales, 29 or 12 per cent of those dying in police custody since 1st April 1996 and 52 or 10 per cent of those dying in prisons since 1st January 1996 have been black or Asian. Black and Asian people constitute approximately 5 per cent of the population of England and Wales. However, they form 11 per cent of those arrested and 15 per cent of those in prisons. Many deaths included in the figures are the result of self-harm or natural causes, involve alcohol or drugs, or are included because the definition on the police side extends to cover those who die while trying to evade arrest. Every death in custody is an individual tragedy, but only a small proportion are genuinely contentious.

Baroness Whitaker

My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for that helpful reply. Will he further illuminate three areas? Is he aware of concern about the possible use of excessive force and in how many of the cases that he mentioned was that alleged? Does my noble friend agree that it would be useful to know in how many cases the deceased was mentally ill? Has indirect discrimination ever been investigated in relation to deaths in any form of custody?

Lord Bassam of Brighton

My Lords, this is a sensitive area. I shall try to answer the questions as best I can. I do not think that we have considered indirect discrimination with regard to deaths in any form of custody. There have been no restraint-related deaths in prison since 1995. Since April 1996 there have been a small number of deaths in police custody where restraint may have been a factor. As to knowing whether many of those in custody suffer from mental health problems, that is undoubtedly the case, but precise statistics in the form requested this afternoon are not available.

Lord Avebury

My Lords, has the Minister noted that no persons detained in military custody—that is, persons convicted of military offences—have died in custody in the past few years? Would it not he worth the Government investigating the reasons for the vastly better performance in that respect of military custodial sentences over civilian ones?

Lord Bassam of Brighton

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord for his useful contribution to the Question. However, it is worth reminding the House that recent reports, particularly the report produced by the Police Complaints Authority, have commended the Police Service on the way in which it has improved the monitoring of those detained and on the effect that has had on the number of deaths in custody The Prison Service is at this moment busy implementing the findings of a thematic report of April of last year from the inspectorate of prisons which is also designed to improve the way in which deaths in custody are processed and to ensure that the issues which may lead to them are dealt with by the Prison Service.

Baroness Gardner of Parkes

My Lords, presumably a post-mortem is carried out in all these cases. Is there a record of the proportion of those who have died in custody who were under the influence of either drugs or alcohol?

Lord Bassam of Brighton

My Lords, those figures exist. There are figures as regards self-harm, natural causes and alcohol and drugs. Since 1st April 1996, for example, 53 prisoners in police custody died from alcohol or drugs, 41 died from natural causes and 60 as a result of self-harm. Those are important and telling factors which have a great impact on the statistics. Similar data and figures exist as regards the Prison Service. Rather than bore your Lordships with them this afternoon, I am more than happy to place them in the Library.

Lord Cope of Berkeley

My Lords, can we take it that the Minister's initial Answer confirms that, if anyone should think or allege that discriminatory treatment was a contributory factor in these figures, that would be indirect discrimination as defined by the Race Relations (Amendment) Bill, which we shall discuss again on Thursday?

Lord Bassam of Brighton

My Lords, that may well be the case. We are concerned to ensure that there is no discrimination in the Prison or Police Services. Those are important objectives for the Home Office as part of our modernisation programme.