News


Independent Advisory Panel (IAP) on Deaths in Custody new report


A new report on all recorded deaths in custody including data on the deaths of patients who died in hospitals whilst detained under the Mental Health Act (MHA) has been published by the Independent Advisory Panel (IAP) on Deaths in Custody.


December 2010. T


This report represents an important piece of work as this is the first time that all recorded deaths in state custody has been broken down by ethnicity, gender, age and cause of death, and presented together in a single format.


The IAP’s findings show that a total of 5,998 deaths have been recorded for past the 11 years, with deaths of those detained under the Mental Health Act (MHA) accounting for a staggering 61% or 3,628 of all deaths in state custody.


This new data shows that 66% or 3,974 deaths were recorded as natural causes and 71% or


his new data for the first times give a statistical analysis of all recorded deaths in custody that occurred between 1 January 2000 and 31


2,814 were of deaths were of patients detained under the MHA.


First time that all recorded deaths in state custody has been broken down by ethnicity, gender, age and cause of death, and presented together in a single format.


This report concedes that there have been more restraint related deaths than those included in both this review and the IAP’s cross sector restraint report. ‘This is related to the difficulties of an inconsistent approach to recording and reporting the use of force across the custodial sectors. There would be value in strengthening mechanisms to capture information on restraint related deaths, which the Panel will also explore as part of its longer term work plan,’ this IAP report says.


Also continued efforts to screen and treat physical health problems of detained patients will be vital as there is an increasing body of evidence in relation to the poor physical health and morbidity of mental health patients this report adds.


Black Pound-Society push for economic empowerment


In a bid to raise economic awareness among the UK’s African Caribbean communities, the Black Pound Society (BPS) is encouraging people from the commu- nity to spend their money in black owned businesses.


T


he Society say that black consumers must make the effort to ensure that their spending power goes into boosting black businesses in much the same way they were supported in African American neighbourhoods such as Harlem during the


1960s civil rights era.


With 50% of people between that ages of 18 to 25 from the UK’s African Caribbean communities currently unemployed and the latest Government figures showing a staging 60% of people registered unemployed in many London boroughs are from ethnic minority communities, this new initiative that aims to buck this trend and raise economic awareness among this group.


Launched earlier this year, the BPS aims to raise the awareness of the economic spending power of black people living in the United Kingdom. ‘As one of the largest consumers in the U.K, we can demonstrate through the use of selective spending our economic strength,’ a spokesman from the Black Pound Society said.


The BPS are promoting their drive in October by asking people from the community to demonstrate their economic power by spending with black owned businesses this month, which also marks Black History Month. The BPS say that by making a cultural shift so that people start thinking about spending money with black businesses the community will begin to start creating and economic legacy for future generations.


15


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24