ArticleBJPsych open2020
Fatal accident inquiries into 83 deaths in Scottish prison custody: 2010-2013.
Article in BJPsych open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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1 citing paper in PubMed, 1 citations in OpenAlex.
- 'Unforeseeable' and 'inevitable': Constructions of prison suicide in Scotland's Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths Inquiries.Criminology & criminal justice : the international journal of policy and practice · 2026Article
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1 author at 1 institution in 1 country.
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Abstract
backgroundThe only non-legal reference in Lord Cullen's Review of fatal accident inquiry (FAI) Legislation in Scotland (2009) was my audit of FAIs into 97 deaths in prison custody in Scotland, 1999-2003: recommending that waiting time from prisoner death to end of FAI should be less than 1 year for 90% of FAIs, and epidemiological rules for FAIs to have a written determination versus formal findings.
aimsAudit of FAIs into 83 deaths in Scottish prison custody in the period 2010-2013.
methodAssessement of waiting times from prisoner death to end of FAI; dissemination of written determinations; self-inflicted death rate per 1000 prisoner-years; cause of natural deaths; and yellow card submissions. Detailed cross-checking was nec37essary between Scottish Prison Service and courts' websites and the Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit.
resultsOf 83 FAIs into deaths in Scottish prison custody, 2010-2013, 37 (45%) were long-awaited (ongoing >2 years after the prisoner's death); 16 (19%, 95% CI 11-28%) beyond 3 years. Of 37 long-awaited FAIs, 27 made written determinations but only 12 of these (44%) were published. Self-inflicted deaths numbered 36: 1.1 per 1000 prisoner-years (95% CI 0.75-1.48). Of 47 deaths from natural causes, cardiovascular disease accounted for 23 (49%, 95% CI 34-63%); liver disease was implicated in 10 of 47. To support pharmacovigilance, submissions were made to Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency for eight deaths (10%, 95% CI 4-19%).
conclusionsFAIs into prisoner deaths in Scotland are too long-awaited given that four (5%) identified precautions that could have prevented death.
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