The collection contains all of the plenary papers and most of the workshop papers submitted for publication. The opening plenary paper traces the history of interest in deaths in police and prison custody in the United Kingdom in the 1970s and 1980s. A presentation on the "Changing Perspectives on Deaths of Prisoners" focuses on the British prison service's commitment to reducing the number of inmate deaths and to communicating openly with families and other interested parties when inmate deaths do occur. The third paper discusses deaths associated with the Australian criminal justice system 6 years after the Royal Commission Into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. Other papers in Part One consider prison suicide and the nature of imprisonment, deaths while under special hospital care, and the coroner's inquiry into offender deaths. Part Two, which contains four papers on the deaths of offenders in police custody, addresses the investigation of such deaths, the lessons to be learned from such deaths, and self-harm and suicide by detainees. The four papers in Part Three consider the right to life and the European Convention on Human Rights, responsibilities of the criminal justice system to families of deceased inmates, a human rights perspective on the deaths of black persons in custody, and an overview of custody deaths in Nigeria. The four papers in Part Four focus on the prevention of deaths while in custody. 176 references