I Can’t Breathe: Race, death & British policing (from INQUEST)
In ‘I can’t breathe’: Race, death and British Policing, INQUEST investigated the processes, procedures and evidence base of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and the coronial system to examine how accountability for racism is delivered.
INQUEST found a system which works against delivering accountability, that appeared blind to the evidence and where racial discrimination was not addressed meaningfully.
The detailed report makes the following issues clear for the first time:
- Official data never before made public shows that Black people are seven times more likely to die than White people following the use of restraint by police.
- No death of a Black person following police custody or contact has led to officers being disciplined for racism, at a conduct or criminal level.
- Despite the stark racial disproportionality evidenced in data, none of the accountability processes effectively or substantially consider the potential role of racism in deaths.
- Britain’s leading human rights lawyers told INQUEST that the role of racism is not adequately scrutinised by post-death investigation system.
The report features new data and analysis. It includes powerful interviews with expert human rights lawyers who are members of the INQUEST Lawyers Group, and five bereaved family members who have been through the legal processes.
We are pleased to announce that The National Lottery Community Fund has awarded £19,984 in grant funding to the NMPMFF to further the commitments from our Development Plans.
Over the last 2+ years the National Mikey Powell Memorial Family Fund (NMPMFF) has lost 80+ (60%) of regular monthly donors, and our grant and reserves are almost depleted.
As part of Unjust Deaths, INQUEST have brought together a group of bereaved people, engaged artists, campaigners, journalists and others to form a Memorialisation Working Group.
The Law Society has called on the Government to invest more money in civil legal aid to ensure greater access for all. More than 42 million people lack access to legal aid.
The chair of England's first public inquiry into mental health deaths, Baroness Lampard, has vowed to "seek out the truth" - despite difficulties getting documents from the NHS.
Over the last 2+ years the NMPMFF has lost approximately 116 of our regular monthly donors leaving just 63; and recently saw the end of core funding for two critical staff.
