Inquest (charity)
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| Founded | 1981 |
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| Type | Charitable organization |
| Registration no. | 1046650 |
| Focus | Criminal Justice |
| Location |
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Area served
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England and Wales |
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Key people
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Deborah Coles, Director |
| Slogan | Working for truth, justice and accountability |
| Website | www |
Inquest, sometimes styled INQUEST, is a charity concerned with deaths in custody or detention in England and Wales, founded in 1981. It offers specialist advice and support to bereaved families and others.
Inquest provides specialist advice and support for bereaved people and for community and voluntary sector groups. Its advice service is restricted to those affected by deaths in custody or detention or "involving state failures", but it also publishes The Inquest Handbook: a guide for bereaved families, friends and their advisors, for anyone dealing with an inquest, freely available online and also in print ().
The Chair of the Trustees, as of June 2016[update], is solicitor Daniel Machover, The poet Benjamin Zephaniah is the charity's patron; his cousin Mikey Powell died in 2003 after being detained by police, for which West Midlands Police issued an apology in 2013.
Inquest's logo includes the slogan "Working for truth, justice and accountability" and an image of a keyhole.
Inquest is a registered charity, number 1046650.
Inquest was founded in 1981 at a time of dissatisfaction with procedures for dealing with deaths in custody and at the hands of the police, and the failure of the official response to these deaths, in particular the deaths of Jimmy Kelly and Blair Peach. Both men died after being assaulted by police officers, and both of the inquests set up following their deaths denied their families access to relevant information.
Following a sustained campaign by Inquest, Peach's family and supporters the internal investigation of the Metropolitan Police (known as the Cass report) was published. This report found that Blair Peach had been killed by a police officer, and that other officers had lied in order to prevent this being made public.
The organisation has successfully campaigned for reforms including: the establishment of independent investigations following deaths in police custody in 2004, and the 2007 Corporate Manslaughter Act, which allows for companies and organisations to be held legally responsible for certain deaths.
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