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1. Introduction

This report presents figures on deaths during or following police contact that happened between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2026. It provides a definitive set of figures for England and Wales, and an overview of the nature and circumstances in which these deaths occurred.

This publication is the twenty-second in this series of statistical reports, published annually by the IOPC. The IOPC examines the circumstances of all deaths referred to us to produce these statistics. We decide whether the deaths meet the criteria for inclusion in this report under one of the following categories:

  • road traffic fatalities
  • fatal shootings
  • deaths in or following police custody
  • apparent suicides following police custody
  • other deaths following police contact that were subject to an independent investigation

Box A provides a definition for each of these categories.

Please see the guidance document for detailed definitions.

More information about the report can be found in the background note.

Box A: Definitions of categories of deaths during or following police contact 

Please see the guidance document for detailed definitions and information about how the death cases are categorised and recorded. 

In this report, the term ‘police’ includes police civilians, police officers and staff from all the organisations under IOPC jurisdiction. See background note 2 for more information. Deaths of police personnel or incidents involving off-duty police personnel are not included in the statistics in this report. 

Road traffic fatalities include deaths of motorists, cyclists or pedestrians arising from police pursuits, police vehicles responding to emergency calls and other police traffic-related activity.

This does not include deaths following a road traffic incident (RTI) where the police attended immediately after the event as an emergency service.

Fatal shootings include fatalities where police officers fired the fatal shot using a conventional firearm.

Deaths in or following police custody include deaths that happen while a person is being arrested or taken into detention.

It includes deaths of people who were arrested or detained by police under the Mental Health Act 1983. The death may have taken place on police, private or medical premises, in a public place or in a police or other vehicle.

This includes deaths that happen:

  • during or following police custody where injuries that contributed to the death happened during the period of detention
  • in or on the way to hospital (or other medical premises) during or following transfer from scene of arrest or police custody
  • as a result of injuries or other medical problems that are identified or  developed while a person is in custody
  • while a person is in police custody having been detained under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 or other related legislation

This does not include:

  • suicides that occur after a person has been released from police custody
  • deaths that happen where the police are called to help medical staff to restrain people who are not under arrest

Apparent suicides following police custody includes apparent suicides that happen within two days of release from police custody. This category also includes apparent suicides that occur beyond two days of release from custody, where the time spent in custody may be relevant to the death.

Other deaths following police contact include deaths that follow contact with the police, either directly or indirectly, that did not involve arrest or detention under the Mental Health Act 1983 and were subject to an independent investigation.

The IOPC will decide to conduct an independent investigation for the most serious incidents that cause the highest level of public concern, have the greatest potential to impact on communities, or have serious implications for the reputation of the police service. Since 2010/11, this category has only included deaths where there was an independent investigation, or where one is ongoing. This is to improve consistency in the reporting of these deaths.

This may include deaths that happen:

  • after the police are called to attend a domestic incident that results in a fatality
  • while a person is actively attempting to avoid arrest, including instances where the death is self-inflicted
  • when the police attend a siege situation, including where a person kills themself or someone else
  • after the police were contacted about concerns for a person’s welfare and there is concern about the nature of the police response