On 6 February 2014, the Justice Secretary announced an independent review into self-inflicted deaths in National Offender Management Service (NOMS) custody of 18-24 year olds and invited Lord Toby Harris, Chair of the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody to conduct it. Black Mental Health (BHM) UK organised a round table discussion on 19 January 2015, hosted by Lord Toby Harris on ‘self-inflicted’ deaths of young people in prison, at which some 24 African practitioners and academics/activists, including Prof Gus John, shared verbal evidence. BHM UK’s invitation to the round table noted:
‘The purpose of the review is to make recommendations to reduce the risk of future self-inflicted deaths in custody and focus on themes include vulnerability, information sharing, safety, staff prisoner relationships, family contact, and staff training. There is debate as to whether or not young people from the UK’s African Caribbean Community are more affected by this disturbing trend of self-inflicted deaths’.
External Links
Gus John Website
‘The purpose of the review is to make recommendations to reduce the risk of future self-inflicted deaths in custody and focus on themes include vulnerability, information sharing, safety, staff prisoner relationships, family contact, and staff training. There is debate as to whether or not young people from the UK’s African Caribbean Community are more affected by this disturbing trend of self-inflicted deaths’.
Professor Gus John: 70 years as a worker in education, youth work and the struggle for social justice and human rights for embattled communities as an activist and an academic.
External Links
Gus John Website
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