IOPC reports increase in police custody deaths and probes Portsmouth death

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) released its annual report for 2025/6, documenting 27 deaths in or following police custody. The report also recorded 15 fatal road‑traffic collisions, four fatal police shootings, 67 apparent suicides after custody and 63 other deaths investigated independently. A large proportion of the custody deaths involved individuals with mental‑health problems, and ten of the 27 were restrained by police. The IOPC noted that the "Right Care, Right Person" programme was not mentioned in the report for the sixth consecutive year.

Separately, the IOPC has opened a gross‑misconduct investigation into four officers from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary after 23‑year‑old Nigel Lawrence died following his arrest on Fratton Road in Portsmouth. Lawrence was handcuffed, searched, and placed in a police van before being taken to hospital, where he died the next evening. The investigation will examine the officers’ decision‑making, the arrest, the care provided, and any breaches of professional standards.