In England and Wales, Coroners are required to investigate and hold a public hearing, called an inquest when someone dies and the cause of death is unknown, the death was violent or unnatural, or the person was in state detention. The statutory purpose of the process – which investigates around one fifth of deaths each year – is to answer key questions about the death, including how the person died.
In addition, Coroners have an secondary duty to make a report where they identify risks to the lives of others. This lecture focuses on those reports and, in particular, on cases where the deceased was homeless or precariously housed.
In the last seven years, there has been a 133% increase in the number of reports by Coroners which relate to people who are homeless. Perhaps more importantly than the increased numbers, analysis of these reports reveals a shift in the issues being identified, with many now directly focused on a fundamental question of housing need rather than on the death itself.
Looking at the way in which homelessness is being talked about in these reports, this lecture will explore what these reports tell us about the contemporary death investigations and the Coronial system. I will argue that these reports are not only efforts to produce social change for people who are homeless, but also amount to efforts to change the inquest system itself, into a system focused on issues of social welfare.
