Annual Report 2004 - Inquest

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12 Roger Sylvester Justice Campaign banner May ● Family of Christopher Alder picket the Home Office to demand public inquiry ● Co-ordinate meeting of families bereaved by deaths in custody with members of the parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights ● Host first INQUEST seminar Bereaved People and Inquests – working with clients affected by the inquest system – in London ● Meet with Prisons and Probation Ombudsman about their investigation of prison deaths ● Meet with senior Department of Health officials and again with Rosie Winterton MP, Minister of State, about the government response to the Bennett Inquiry ● Speak on black deaths in custody at the ‘Criminology in the New Millenium’ Conference – Race, Criminal Justice and Gender ● Meet with Chris Ruane MP about the call for public inquiry into the death of Joseph Scholes police officers involved in fatal restraint are seen to be above the law and families whose loved ones have died as a result of excessive and unlawful force can get no justice and accountability. The Roger Sylvester Justice Campaign continues to highlight the injustices suffered by the family. Families’ Experiences of Deaths in Custody INQUEST’s Nuffield Foundation funded project on families’ experiences following deaths in custody has drawn extensively on the work outlined. The report will be published in 2005 and will draw attention to continuing thematic problems across all areas of custody. Reform of the Inquest System During the year we have been in an ongoing dialogue with the Home Office about the proposed reform of the inquest system. In March the government announced proposals on reforming the coroner and death certification service in response to the report of the Fundamental Review of Coroner Services and the Shipman Inquiry. A position paper was published that proposes a national system
13 Other 48 Prison 68 Police 18 New Cases Total: 245 Other159 Police 56 Cases Brought Forward Total: 225 Prison 121 based around full time independent legally qualified coroners. INQUEST welcomed the commitment to make the system sensitive to the needs of the bereaved. How much of a continuing political priority this is for the government in the run up to a general election in 2005 remains to be seen. Significant legal developments are having a positive impact on the conduct of inquests that engage Article 2 of the ECHR and many coroners are embracing the current opportunities for change. But this is being hampered by the lack of progress in implementing the necessary policy changes. Many coroners are suffering acute problems with a lack of resources resulting in considerable delay in inquests being heard; there are still too many hurdles in the way of public funding for legal preparation and representation for bereaved families and in some circumstances the new investigation systems do not allow families to effectively participate. The government is expected to publish a White Paper on reform of the inquest system in the spring of 2005. We hope the government will rise to the challenge of ensuring the new inquest and investigation systems can deliver a 21st Century service that acknowledges and respects the needs of bereaved families and the truth. New Clients 330 Clients 2004 Total: 721 Brought Forward 391 Police 74 Prison 189 All Cases Total: 470 Casework 2004 Casework Casework forms the core of INQUEST’s work. This year our casework focus has been particularly on the deaths of children and young people and the deaths of women in prison because of the high numbers and also because we are working on two significant projects due for completion in 2006. Casework Service INQUEST monitors all deaths in custody and identifies themes and patterns that arise from these deaths: subsequently our casework priorities reflect these issues of concern. The charts above show the number of people we have advised and the number of cases we are working on. Other 207
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Annual Report 2004 - Inquest

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