Katie Allan and William Brown: Deaths at Young Offenders Institution Polmont ‘might have been avoided’
The deaths of a young woman and a teenage boy while in custody at a young offenders’ institution in Scotland “might have been avoided”, an inquiry has found.
Katie Allan, 21, and William Brown, 16, took their own lives within months of each other at Polmont Young Offenders Institution in Falkirk in 2018.
A fatal accident inquiry (FAI) was held last year into the deaths.
In his determination, published on Friday, Sheriff Simon Collins said “systemic failures” contributed to their deaths and made 25 recommendations as part of efforts to “realistically prevent” other tragedies in similar circumstances.
Polmont Young Offenders Institution
University of Glasgow student Allan, 21, was found dead in her cell on 4 June 2018 while serving a 16-month sentence for drink-driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving.
Brown, also known as William Lindsay, was found dead in his cell on 7 October 2018, three days after being admitted to Polmont as there was no space in a children’s secure unit, having walked into a police station with a knife.
‘Multiple failures by prison and healthcare staff’
Ms Allan. Pic: PA
Sheriff Collins singled out the Scottish Prison Service’s (SPS) Talk to Me (TTM) suicide prevention strategy.
He noted Ms Allan had been assessed but was not deemed to be at risk on her admission to custody – first to HMP Cornton Vale then Polmont – nor at any time prior to her death almost three months later.
However, he said that during her incarceration there was a “systemic failure” by prison staff to complete “concern forms” that could have triggered the TTM process, pointing to a number of incidents recorded by prison staff that should have been red flags.
These included Ms Allan being bullied by other prisoners, distress caused by hair loss resulting from alopecia, her distress at being strip-searched by prison staff, and the failure of her appeal against her conviction.
Her weight also dropped from 65kg to 58kg during her time at the facility, which Sheriff Collins said should have been a “cause for concern” by staff.
The sheriff found “multiple failures by prison and healthcare staff to properly identify, record and share information” relevant to Ms Allan’s risk in accordance with TTM.
‘A catalogue of individual and collective failures’
William Brown. Pic: Aamer Anwar & Co
Mr Brown was placed on TTM on admission to Polmont only to be removed from it the next morning, despite presenting as a “very high risk” individual.
He was also not placed back on TTM when “further information” about his level of risk was provided to prison staff by a social worker later that day.
Sheriff Collins added: “William’s death resulted from a catalogue of individual and collective failures by prison and healthcare staff in Polmont.
“Almost all of those who interacted with him were at fault to some extent.”
‘A realistic possibility their deaths might have been avoided’
The sheriff also described as “defective” the systems for sharing information between the SPS and other bodies, including courts and external agencies, about prisoner risk.
He additionally found issues with the way risk assessment information was recorded on prison systems.
The sheriff said “reasonable precautions” could have been taken around the safety of cells which may also have helped to prevent the deaths.
Sheriff Collins stated: “Had Katie been put on TTM on the night of 3 to 4 June 2018, and had William not been removed from it prior to the night of 6 to 7 October 2018, there was a realistic possibility that their deaths might have been avoided.”
He added: “Had they been on TTM at these times, it is likely that they would have been, at the very least, subject to regular checks and observations within their cells, in particular overnight.
“The time available to them to die by suicide without being observed would therefore have been materially reduced.
“That does not mean that their deaths would necessarily have been avoided, or even that they would probably have been avoided. But I have no hesitation in accepting that there was at least a realistic possibility that they might have been.”
Raft of recommendations
The 25 recommendations included ligature prevention, such as removing double bunk beds from cells, and identifying and removing, so far as reasonably practicable, ligature anchor points.
In regards to information sharing and recording, the sheriff has called for Scottish ministers to put a system in place that ensures all documentation available to a court when a young person is sent to custody is passed to SPS at the time of their admission.
The sheriff said TTM, which is currently under review by the SPS, should also be extensively revised.
One of the recommendations included a presumption for all prisoners sent to Polmont to be subject to TTM for a minimum of 72 hours following admission, and not to be removed from it until a case conference has so decided.
‘These deaths should not have happened’
Justice Secretary Angela Constance said the deaths of Ms Allan and Mr Brown “should not have happened whilst they were in the care of the state”.
A spokesperson for the SPS added: “We are grateful to Sheriff Collins for his recommendations, which we will now carefully consider before responding further.”
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
Read more:
Sky’s Beth Rigby running marathon in honour of ‘dearest friend’
Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform
Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway