1. INQUEST ‘Corporate Killing’ and deaths in police or prison custody

2. What is INQUEST deaths in Prison and at the hands of the police providing advice to bereaved families undertaking policy and research work Monitors inquests, criminal investigations and prosecutions work towards greater state and corporate accountability

3. Extent of the Problem Since 1990 1508 deaths in prison 712 police deaths (including

4. INQUEST’s Interest in Corporate Killing Failure of the current law to deal with deaths resulting from gross organisational failures on the part of the police forces and prisons. have been a pattern of restraint related deaths in custody where there have been serious concerns about failure to issue guidance and training on dangers or particular methods of restraint (e.g use of neck holds, CS gas, prone restraint) pattern of self inflicted deaths in prison where there have been a failure to implement suicide prevention guidelines (e.g failure to remove cell bars)

5. Current legal position - Prisons Most prisons controlled by home office - not companies - in any case, crown bodies so cant be prosecuted as result of crown immunity Private prisons - run by companies, can be prosecuted - not crown bodies - would need to be able to prosecute director or senior manager of company that runs prison

6. Current Legal Position - Police forces - complicated legal status - not crown bodies, so no immunity - but not a company, so cant be prosecuted for manslaughter

7. What INQUEST Wants An offence that allows prisons and police forces to be prosecuted for causing deaths as a result of serious management failures. This would require - removal of crown immunity, so prisons can be prosecuted - clarifying status of police forces, so that they can be treated in law as an organisation that can be prosecuted for new offence

8. What INQUEST Wants Government’s Position - appears to want to keep crown immunity - result in absurd position where family of person who died in a private prison would have different redress and accountability from person who died in ordinary prisons - not said anything about position of police police have so far lobbied successfully to ensure that a police force does not have an independent legal status that allows it to be prosecuted. Currently deflects responsibility upon either Chief Constable or police authority, when it should be the police force itself.