Deaths in custody

Corporate Information Management Department

Force Headquarters, PO Box 37, Valley Road,

Portishead, Bristol, BS20 8QJ

Facsimile 01275 814667

Private
Ms Z Mercer
[FOI #29435 email] Our Reference 108/10
Your reference
Date 22 February 2010
Dear Ms Mercer

Thank you for your request for information dated 21st February 2010
relating to the amount of deaths occurred in custody over the last 5
years. This request will be dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act 2000.

Your request will now be considered and you will receive a response within
the statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act, subject
to the information not being exempt or containing a reference to a third
party. In some circumstances Avon and Somerset Constabulary may be unable
to achieve this deadline. If this is likely you will be informed and given
a revised time-scale at the earliest opportunity.

There may be a fee payable for the retrieval, collation and provision of
the information you request. If this is the case you will be informed and
the 20 working day timescale will be suspended until we receive payment
from you. If you choose not to make a payment then your request will
remain unanswered.

Some requests may also require either full or partial transference to
another public authority in order to answer your query in the fullest
possible way. Again, you will be informed if this is the case.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
Avon and Somerset Constabulary.

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Officer

Freedom of Information Officer
Corporate Information Management Department

Please note;

1. Requests and responses may be published on Avon and Somerset
Constabulary's website (within 24 hours), some of which may
contain a link to additional information, which may provide
you with further clarification.
2. Whilst we may verbally discuss your request with you in order
to seek clarification, all other communication should be made
in writing.
3. Avon and Somerset Constabulary provides you with the right to
request a re-examination of your case under its review
procedure.

Corporate Information Management Department

Force Headquarters, PO Box 37, Valley Road,

Portishead, Bristol, BS20 8QJ

Facsimile 01275 814667

Private
Zoe Mercer
[FOI #29435 email]
Our Reference 108/10
Your reference
Date 16 April 2010
Dear Miss Mercer

I write in connection with your request for information dated 21^st
February concerning Deaths which had occurred in Custody.

Specifically you asked:

1) How many deaths in custody have occurred in the last 5 years?

2) Which station was responsible for each person who died? (eg.
Bromley: X deaths. Brixton: Y deaths. etc.)

3) How many members of the public are served by the police stations
where deaths occurred?

Your request for information has now been considered and some of the
information asked for is below.

Section 17 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires Avon and
Somerset Constabulary, when refusing to provide such information (because
the information is exempt) to provide you the applicant with a notice
which: (a) states that fact, (b) specifies the exemption in question and
(c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption
applies.

1) The exemption applicable to the information is section 21, information
which is reasonably accessible to the applicant by other means. This
information is already publicly available in financial years on the IPCC
website. A link is attached below.

[1]http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/index/resources/r...

In accordance with the Act, this represents a Refusal Notice for this part
of your request.

2) As you will determine from the above link there was 1 death recorded as
“Death during or following police custody. The station this relates to
is Bath Police station. Please note however that it cannot be presumed
that either the station or the persons in it were responsible for this
death.

3) Avon and Somerset does not hold this information in an exact format.
However, under section 16 of the act, in order to assist you with this
question we have provided a link below to our website which provides
information on the Bath and North East Somerset district and a link to the
Office for National Statistics website which publishes figures on
population estimates for each area in the United Kingdom.

[2]http://10.10.1.251/LocalPages/DistrictDe...

[3]http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/t...

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
Avon and Somerset Constabulary.

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Officer

Freedom of Information Officer
Corporate Information Management Department

Please note:

1. Requests and responses may be published on Avon and Somerset
Constabulary’s website (within 24 hours), some of which may
contain a link to additional information, which may provide
you with further clarification.
2. Whilst we may verbally discuss your request with you in order
to seek clarification, all other communication should be made
in writing.
3. Avon and Somerset Constabulary provides you with the right to
request a re-examination of your case under its review
procedure (copy attached).

<<A&S Appeals Procedure.doc>>

References

Visible links
1. http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/index/resources/r...
2. http://10.10.1.251/LocalPages/DistrictDe...
3. http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/t...