Lancashire has one of the highest totals for people killing themselves after being arrested

New figures have shown that there have been a total of 577 apparent suicides nationally following police custody over the past decade.

The Metropolitan Police accounted for the highest number (46), followed by the Greater Manchester and Northumbria forces (25 each), and Lancashire and the West Midlands (24 each).

Lancashire’s police and crime commissioner Clive Grunshaw said: “Deaths following custody are of obvious concern and officers have been working with the Samaritans to refer people who may appear vulnerable in their release.

“The Government has announced a review and I look forward to its outcome with interest to see if there are any changes Lancashire Constabulary can make.

“The welfare of those in custody remains of paramount importance.”

The statistics were released by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which also revealed the number of people who died in custody reached its highest level for five years in 2014/15.

IPCC chair Dame Anne Owers said: “Regrettably, our investigations have too often exposed the same issues: inadequate risk assessments; token checks on a person in custody; insufficient handovers between custody staff; a failure to recognise or properly deal with people with mental health concerns or substance abuse issues; poor liaison between police and other agencies.”

There were also 17 fatalities during or after detention in England and Wales – six more than the previous year and the highest annual total since 2010/11.

Fourteen were men and three were women and they were aged between 22 and 57. Fifteen were white, one was of Asian ethnicity and one was black.

Home Secretary Theresa May has launched a review into deaths in police custody, and added: “Deaths and serious incidents in custody may be rare, but they do happen.”