Achieving Racial Justice at Inquests: Important New Guide

In February 2024, the charity Justice, in association with Inquest, published ‘Achieving Racial Justice at Inquests: a Practitioner’s Guide.’

This ambitious guide is the first of its kind and was produced in consultation with an advisory group featuring a range of experts, including academics, representatives of the bereaved, solicitors and barristers (including 5 Essex Chambers’ Anne Studd KC and Alison Hewitt) from a wide range of backgrounds. This work was borne of concern from families and practitioners that, in some inquests, race and racism had played a part in the death but was not always on the coroner’s agenda. This guide seeks to raise awareness of such issues and encourage a sensitivity as to what might underlie a situation so that coroners can ensure they are explored. Where race and racism have played a role in a death, such an approach is vital.

The guide is divided into five parts:

Part 1: Racism and Deaths in Custody explains how race and racism shape the experiences of Black and racialised people (the terms used throughout the report) within the immigration system, policing, the prison and mental health systems. It explains the role of racial stereotyping in deaths in custody.

Part 2: Approaching a Case as a Practitioner covers recognising institutional and structural racism, biases and limitations and then turns to listening to bereaved families and encourages strategic approaches to addressing issues of race and racism. This part includes a checklist to help practitioners recognise and address their own biases and offers guidance on working sensitively with families.

Part 3: Raising Issues of Race and Racism offers advice on when to raise race or racism alongside an overview of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights. It encourages practitioners to raise these matters early. There is advice on how to investigate these issues and details about preliminary investigations, such as those conducted by the IOPC.

Part 4: Evidencing Issues of Race and Racism turns to how to identify ‘surrounding facts’ and evidence that race and racism played a part in the death, for example, through reports, statistical evidence and experts. This part contains a list of factors to consider in seeking to demonstrate that the race of the deceased played a role in their death.

Part 5: Guidance for Coroners advises coroners themselves on ensuring racial sensitivity at inquests, explaining why these matters should be investigated and how to investigate them during an inquest. There is advice on managing juries and drafting effective Prevention of Future Death (‘PFD’) reports.

Finally, there are four checklists appended to the guide, including a coroner’s checklist for determining whether to investigate issues of race and racism and a list of possible disclosure requests relevant to the statistical context.

Wider Application

Although the guide focusses on deaths in state custody, its application – as the title perhaps suggests – is in fact wider. Much of its advice could apply in other spheres such as health and social care and non-custody police-connected inquests. The guide itself recognises as much, emphasising that ‘there are state-related deaths outside this context that also raise significant issues of racism’ and giving the example of persistent disparities of maternal mortality rates for Black and racialised women. This is a guide that is relevant to all inquest practitioners and which is likely to be cited in inquests where an arguable issue of race or racism arises.

Representing Public Authorities

While this guidance is targeted at those representing the bereaved, it should not be overlooked by practitioners appearing for public authorities. On the contrary. If any concerns raised have a basis, it will be essential to work with the coroner to explore them. And, if there are problems stemming from questions of race, it is in everyone’s interests to identify them early on and seek to rectify them.

When presented with an inquest that gives rise to these issues or faced with arguments that race or racism were factors in a death, representatives (and their clients) will need to think carefully about how to respond. Those faced with a defensive client will be able to use this guide, stamped with the authority of the former Chief Coroner, to encourage an open approach. In some cases, there may be legal arguments that could be deployed to deter such issues being explored but representatives for public authorities should think carefully before deploying them. Proper inquiries should never be blocked and public authorities should be proactive in seeking to identify – and remedy – their own shortcomings. Perhaps one of the lessons of the Horizon Inquiry is that even where there is no express duty of candour, public bodies should embrace fearless self-analysis and disclosure. It may be better to undertake early, forward-leading enquiries to identify and address any issues at the outset. It will always look much worse if, later, an enquiry is made which vindicates a family’s concerns and demonstrates systemic problems.

Anyone representing public authorities will want to work out a sensible way to investigate valid concerns carefully while not entertaining flights of fancy. Public clients should seek to be on the front foot and identify if these issues could arise before the first Pre-Inquest Review. If necessary, offer a witness statement from a senior and suitably-qualified witness to explain and close down any concerns or to make admissions and set out changes that have been made. It will always be wiser to reassure a coroner that a suspicion is ill-founded, if that is the case. Importantly, pre-emptive steps may comfort bereaved families. Importantly, pre-emptive steps may comfort bereaved families.

What Next?

There have been growing calls from families and their representatives for inquests to be a way of recording that something has taken place which was affected by race, even if not causative or contributory to the death. At the moment, it remains unlawful for coroners to make such wide findings. Is there a change on the horizon? In recent years we have seen major developments in coronial law – this is an area of practice where the sands are always shifting. If a coroner conducts an investigation into issues of race and racism and uncovers something important but outwith the jurisdiction for their Record of Inquest or a PFD report, it is arguably in society’s interests that it be recorded and lessons learned. We can expect some creative new legal arguments to follow.

Conclusion

As the opening words by the former Chief Coroner His Honour Judge Mark Lucraft KC say, this guide equips practitioners and coroners with the tools ‘to recognise, raise and investigate issues of race or racism when they arise, sensitively and without reticence’. It is, he says, ‘an invaluable resource, not only for promoting racial justice, but for improving fact finding, increasing racial awareness, and providing better representation to families’. In fact, one hopes, it might also assist public bodies and those who represent them too.

---

Authors

Georgina Wolfe

Call 2006

Related areas

Inquests

---