Coalition raise alarm over attempts to weaken police accountability
source: INQUEST
published: 10 February 2025
Image Credit: Duda/Pexels
A coalition of organisations supporting victims of police violence are urging the Home Secretary to reject changes proposed by the police which threaten to reduce the level of scrutiny faced by officers involved in deaths and serious incidents.
INQUEST, alongside other specialist organisations including Liberty, Centre for Women's Justice and the United Friends and Family Campaign (UFFC), have written to Yvette Cooper to raise concerns about the ongoing Home Office Review examining the legal tests in two Supreme Court cases, which could reverse crucial decisions on police use of force and unlawful killing in inquests.
The letter highlights the concerns of families bereaved by police-related deaths and stresses that the changes under consideration would not only fail to address the real issues within policing but would also undermine public trust and allow police officers to avoid accountability. It is expected to report by the end of February.
The review was announced in October 2024 following the reaction by, and pressure from, police officers and their representatives to the criminal investigation and prosecution of the Metropolitan Police officer Martyn Blake, who fatally shot Chris Kaba on 5 September 2022.
Since 1990, only one serving police officer has been convicted of manslaughter and none for murder. Despite this, 2023/24 saw a 10% increase in police use of force and the highest number of police-related deaths for nearly a decade.
Susan Alexander, mother of Azelle Rodney, said: "Police officers repeatedly act as if they are above the law. But when they use force or kill, they must be held accountable like anybody else.
"It has been a long and emotional two decades since my son Azelle was killed by the police. Campaigning for answers and accountability has had a profound effect on my state of mind, my work, home, social and family life.
"We families engage in so many agonising processes to try and ensure that no one else has to go through what we’ve been through. What use are the countless recommendations that have come out of these if they are simply left to gather dust?
"Seeing the police and their representatives now once again invest their energy to try and weaken the ways in which we can hold them accountable is an insult. Instead, imagine how many lives could be saved and families spared if they focused on implementing change and listening to us families rather than continuing to shut us out."
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