Custody suicides rise for second year, IOPC finds

The report, now in its 22nd year, shows a mixed picture. Road traffic fatalities linked to police involvement fell sharply to 15, down from 26 in 2024/25. But deaths in or following police custody rose to 27, an increase on the previous year, though the IOPC says this remains broadly in line with the two years before that. The rise comes against a backdrop of steadily increasing detention numbers, with more than 900,000 people held in custody in 2024/25.

Apparent suicides following police custody also increased, to 67 from 61 the previous year. Only one of these was independently investigated by the IOPC, with the rest examined locally by forces. New guidance aimed at reducing such deaths, produced jointly by the NPCC and the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody and informed by IOPC findings, was published in October.

Force, including physical restraint, was used in 28 of the deaths recorded, including four fatal police shootings. Mental ill health, drugs and alcohol were flagged as recurring factors across the cases.

IOPC Director General Rachel Watson said the figures were “not merely statistics” and that investigations play a role in “protecting people’s human rights and ensuring the public can have confidence in policing.” She added that the cases represent “a tiny proportion” of the hundreds of thousands of people detained annually, while stressing continued work with police to reduce the numbers.

Of 66 recommendations issued by the IOPC in 2025, around a third arose directly from investigations into deaths during or following police contact, including changes to custody training, risk assessments and call handling. The College of Policing’s Authorised Professional Practice is also being updated as a result of IOPC findings on caring for detainees with head injuries and custody handover procedures.