Between 2008/09 and 2018/19, 85 percent of deaths in police custody in England and Wales were white people, who make up 86 percent of the UK population. In the same time period, black people accounted for eight percent of the UK deaths in police custody, while only making up three percent of the total population.
Percentage of deaths in police custody in England and Wales between 2008/09 and 2018/19, by ethnicity
Characteristic
Percentage of deaths in custody
Percentage of population*
White
85%
86%
Black
8%
3%
Asian
3%
8%
Mixed
2%
2%
Other
1%
1%
0%20%40%60%80%100%
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The source adds the following information "Death in custody is the term for anybody who dies while in the custody of the state - this could include while being detained by a police officer or while being held as a prisoner in a police station."
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BBC, & Independent Police Complaints Commission. (June 4, 2020). Percentage of deaths in police custody in England and Wales between 2008/09 and 2018/19, by ethnicity [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved March 08, 2025, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1122775/deaths-in-police-custody-in-the-uk-2019-by-ethnicity/
BBC, und Independent Police Complaints Commission. "Percentage of deaths in police custody in England and Wales between 2008/09 and 2018/19, by ethnicity ." Chart. June 4, 2020. Statista. Accessed March 08, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1122775/deaths-in-police-custody-in-the-uk-2019-by-ethnicity/
BBC, Independent Police Complaints Commission. (2020). Percentage of deaths in police custody in England and Wales between 2008/09 and 2018/19, by ethnicity . Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: March 08, 2025. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1122775/deaths-in-police-custody-in-the-uk-2019-by-ethnicity/
BBC, and Independent Police Complaints Commission. "Percentage of Deaths in Police Custody in England and Wales between 2008/09 and 2018/19, by Ethnicity ." Statista, Statista Inc., 4 Jun 2020, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1122775/deaths-in-police-custody-in-the-uk-2019-by-ethnicity/
BBC & Independent Police Complaints Commission, Percentage of deaths in police custody in England and Wales between 2008/09 and 2018/19, by ethnicity Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1122775/deaths-in-police-custody-in-the-uk-2019-by-ethnicity/ (last visited March 08, 2025)
Percentage of deaths in police custody in England and Wales between 2008/09 and 2018/19, by ethnicity [Graph], BBC, & Independent Police Complaints Commission, June 4, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1122775/deaths-in-police-custody-in-the-uk-2019-by-ethnicity/
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