Highlighting “Risky Remands” Through Prisoner Death Investigations: People With Very Severe Mental Illness Transitioning From Police and Court Custody Into Prison on Remand

Abstract

Prison suicide/self-inflicted death is an international public health crisis, harming stakeholders including bereaved families, prisoners, prison staff and death investigators. England and Wales' record prison suicide numbers in 2016 cost at least £400 million. Death rates are an indicator of prison safety, and unsafe prisons mean unsafe societies. I present four case studies of people with very severe mental illness who were remanded to prison from police and/or court custody and went on to take their own lives in prison. I use publicly available data from Ombudsman and Coronial death investigations in England and Wales, highlighting that these accessible sources could be more widely mobilized to reduce the substantial harms and costs of prisoner deaths. Case studies include three men (Lewis Francis, Jason Basalat and Dean Saunders) and one woman (Sarah Reed) who took their own lives between January 2016 and April 2017. All four people were clearly very mentally unwell at the time of their alleged offense and remand to prison. I develop the concept of “risky remands” to highlight that people with very severe mental illness being remanded to prison is a particularly problematic practice. I highlight the implications of people with very severe mental illness transitioning into prison in the first place, arguing that being remanded to prison is not an acceptable or safe pathway into healthcare. I illustrate that police custody suites and courts may lack awareness of mechanisms and/ or the practical ability to transfer ill detainees charged with a serious crime to mental health facilities for assessment and/ or treatment. My analysis amplifies and extends recent Criminal Justice Joint Inspection findings that it is unacceptable to use prisons as a “place of safety,” and that the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and the Welsh Government must increase the supply of medium and high secure beds. Moreover, Ombudsman investigations did not engage with the remand transition, effectively legitimizing this risky practice for very ill people. As such, my analysis also counters the apparent “problem of implementation” in prison oversight, instead questioning what reviewers recommend, based on which evidence.

Bereaved Family ‘Involvement’ in (Prisoner) Death Investigations: Whose ‘Satisfaction’?

“…Sarah Reed “suffered from serious mental health problems” (PPO, 2017b: iii) and was remanded to prison “solely for the purpose of obtaining […] reports on her fitness to plead and stand trial” for an alleged offence (Thornton, 2017: 2). Whilst the PPO noted the family's question, their report did not engage with it, highlight its (ir)relevance or explain whose remit it was to consider, which could be very frustrating for a grieving family, compromises the public record and misses an opportunity to create demonstrable systemic change (see also Tomczak, 2022).…”

“…In contrast with the provisions of Amin , the PPO loosely defines its investigation as seeking to “provide explanations and insight for the bereaved relatives” (PPO, 2017a: p9). Explanations for the PPO's lack of impact on prisoner death numbers often leverage its lack of enforcement powers (or ‘teeth’) and statutory footing, but in fact its flexible remit could better facilitate ‘satisfaction’ for bereaved families (Tomczak, 2022).…”

“…On another view, prison recall decisions and being imprisoned when acutely mentally ill (e.g. Sarah Reed) are central to 'why the person died', forming systemic hazards that produce the conditions facilitating prison suicides (Tomczak, 2022). As such, the PPO should consider whether their current remit and practices facilitate family 'satisfaction'.…”

‘The human toll’: Highlighting the unacknowledged harms of prison suicide which radiate across stakeholder groups

“…We demonstrate that scholars have grasped neither: the breadth and depth of harms from prisoner deaths, which affect stakeholders around the world including bereaved families, prisoners, prison staff and societies (Tomczak, 2018(Tomczak, , 2022; nor the substantive impacts of prisoner deaths on investigators; nor the extent of the harms experienced through investigations. Deaths and death investigations can have catastrophic effects on well-being, as we highlight with reference to prison staff and Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) staff who investigate prisoner deaths.…”

Prisoners on prisons: Experiences of peer-delivered suicide prevention work

“…This task was inappropriate for peer supporters, but co-authors believed that they were expected to give prison officers 'a few hours break', amidst severely constrained mental health services and secure beds (Tomczak, 2022a). Working with acutely distressed people is challenging for trained, experienced, and supported healthcare professionals, but peer supporters enter these situations whilst dealing with their own incarceration and with very little preparation.…”