Police road collision deaths reach 10-year high

The number of people who died as a result of road collisions involving police has reached the highest number for at least 10 years.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct says there were 42 such deaths in 2018/19 across England and Wales, 13 more than the year before.

Thirty of the deaths were from police pursuit-related incidents and five came from emergency response incidents.

The IOPC said it was "critical" to see if lessons could be learnt by police.

It added: "These deaths have a tragic and lifelong impact on the family and friends of those who have died, and the police officers who are involved."

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Of the 30 pursuit-related fatalities, 20 were the driver or passenger in the pursued vehicle.

A further 10 were in an unrelated vehicle or were a pedestrian hit by the car being pursued.

Other figures showed there were 16 deaths in or following police custody, a reduction of seven from a 10-year high in 2017/18 though no one died within a police custody suite.

Six people died in hospital after becoming unwell in a police cell, and six people were taken ill at the scene of arrest and died in hospital.

There were three fatal police shootings, compared to four fatalities last year.