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NEW BLOG - "Belmarsh to Broadmoor" Axel Rudabukana has been transferred under the Mental Health Act from prison to hospital. Plenty of comment already bouncing about this, but what does it all mean? mentalhealthcop.com/2026/07/24/b...

NEW BLOG - "Broadmoor and Benefits". Quite a lot of fluff yesterday about AR's eligibility for benefits now he has been transferred to Broadmoor. He's not eligible - this post explains why not, where confusion comes from and how it was spreading. mentalhealthcop.com/2026/07/25/b...

Very well observed, yes!

NEW BLOG - "Broadmoor and Benefits". Quite a lot of fluff yesterday about AR's eligibility for benefits now he has been transferred to Broadmoor. He's not eligible - this post explains why not, where confusion comes from and how it was spreading. mentalhealthcop.com/2026/07/25/b...

First reaction to news of AR's transfer to Broadmoor - I have another post out tomorrow concerning the astonishing reaction to the news and to the specific point about entitlement to benefits. Today's post made it clear he's not eligible to claim; tomorrow's post explains why.

First reaction to news of AR's transfer to Broadmoor - I have another post out tomorrow concerning the astonishing reaction to the news and to the specific point about entitlement to benefits. Today's post made it clear he's not eligible to claim; tomorrow's post explains why.

Yarp!

NEW BLOG - "Belmarsh to Broadmoor" Axel Rudabukana has been transferred under the Mental Health Act from prison to hospital. Plenty of comment already bouncing about this, but what does it all mean? mentalhealthcop.com/2026/07/24/b...

Interesting development - Nottinghamshire MH Trust now being investigated by Northumbria Police for corporate manslaughter, following the events in involving VC up to June 2023. I'm not yet sure whether this will affect the public inquiry's timescales to publish. www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/art...

NEW BLOG - "Police Mediate Deaths" Some reflections after an early summer spent pouring over books and articles about deaths after police contact. mentalhealthcop.com/2026/07/22/p...

Exactly the complexity and nuance missed by current definitions and the data gathering / publication which results. Been interesting to find how we critics there are of the definition and the data - actually surprised me.

Final point - In reviewing several academics books and papers on the subject of DAPC events, the IOPC data is used as the basis for their work, almost a uncritically in terms of these problems. Blindspot? - someone should do a PhD. 9/9

True even if there was no short-coming in police actions leading to arrest / detention or in terms of risk oversight, medical assessment or first-aid response once someone deteriorated - it's included. But fail to respond to an A2/3-ECHR obligation, potentially not included. 8/

A final point, the gathering of data is not always about a causal or contributory link between the fatal outcome and the police contact. If someone with very serious underlying health problems died of natural causes in a cell block, they're included in the data. 7/

The lack of "independent" investigation, means it does not qualify for inclusion in the national data, under point 5. But it doesn't qualify anywhere else, either! I was duty inspector for two DAPC incidents in my career, one of which would not have qualified. 6/

Imagine someone contacts the police for assistance and it is denied (whether "RCRP" or otherwise) and subsequently someone dies in circumstances where review suggests the denial of support was not appropriate. What if the IOPC assess this can be investigated locally, by PSD? 5/

So just two of the issues which arise from this - - Obvious overlap between 3/4 - The caveat of "independent investigation" for 5. Point 5 is worth some greater attention because it excludes certain incidents, despite them obviously qualifying as DAPC events. 4/

Essentially, five things count towards data inclusion (paraphrased for space) - - Road traffic collisions - Fatal police shootings - Deaths in or following use of police custody - Suicide after release from custody - Other deaths (independently investigated). 3/

The main data and definition of "DAPC" comes from @policeconduct.bsky.social, who publish an annual report on this topic. This is the latest of them (definition on pp5/6) - www.policeconduct.gov.uk/sites/defaul... 2/

Been doing a lot of PhD work in the last two months, with emphasis on thinking about how we define / describe "deaths after police custody" or "contact" (DAPC). Obviously involved looking at what others have done when examining this. Turns out, we have a little problem. 🧵 1/