Jack Edwards

Independent investigation into the
A report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
death of Mr Jack Edwards, a
resident at Trent House Approved
Premises, on 8 December 2023
A report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
Third Floor, 10 South Colonnade Email: mail@ppo.gov.uk T l 020 7633 4100
Canary Wharf, London E14 4PU Web: www.ppo.gov.uk
© Crown copyright, 2024
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The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman aims to make a significant contribution to safer,
fairer custody and community supervision. One of the most important ways in which we
work towards that aim is by carrying out independent investigations into deaths, due to any
cause, of prisoners, young people in detention, residents of approved premises and
detainees in immigration centres.
If my office is to best assist His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) in
ensuring the standard of care received by those within service remit is appropriate, our
recommendations should be focused, evidenced and viable. This is especially the case if
there is evidence of systemic failure.
Mr Jack Edwards, a resident of Trent House Approved Premises, died from a head injury
on 8 December 2023, after he was assaulted in the community three days earlier. He was
24 years old. I offer my condolences to his family and friends.
On the day of his release, after he met his community offender manager and booked into
Trent House, Mr Edwards went into Nottingham where he was assaulted and received a
significant head injury. Mr Edwards had previously raised concerns with his community
offender manager that he had links to gangs in Nottingham. The police found no evidence
that Mr Edwards’ death was gang related, and it appears to have been the result of a
random altercation.
This version of my report, published on my website, has been amended to remove the
names of staff and residents involved in my investigation.
Adrian Usher
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman July 2024
Contents
Summary ......................................................................................................................... 1
The Investigation Process ................................................................................................ 2
Background Information ................................................................................................... 3
Key Events ....................................................................................................................... 4
Findings ........................................................................................................................... 7
Summary
Events
1. On 6 September 2023, Mr Jack Edwards was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison for
possession of a bladed article and sent to HMP Nottingham. His community
offender manager noted that Mr Edwards had links to gangs in Nottingham.
2. On 29 September, Mr Edwards’ community offender manager completed a referral
for him to live in an approved premises (AP) on his release.
3. On 2 October, Mr Edwards was transferred to HMP Ranby.
4. On 3 November, Mr Edwards was accepted for Trent House AP, in Nottingham. Mr
Edwards told his community offender manager that he was at risk in Nottingham
because of his links to gangs. His community offender manager sent a list of the
names and gangs which Mr Edwards said he was at risk from to the
Nottinghamshire Police Organised Crime Team. An intelligence analyst checked
their databases and found no intelligence to suggest that Mr Edwards was at risk in
Nottingham.
5. On 5 December, Mr Edwards was released on licence. His licence conditions
required him to report at 2.00pm, to his community offender manager at the
Mansfield Probation Office. When he went to this appointment, Mr Edwards was
under the influence of alcohol but was noted to be coherent enough to go through
the induction paperwork.
6. At about 5.00pm, Mr Edwards arrived at Trent House. A residential support worker
noted that Mr Edwards was under the influence of cannabis and alcohol. She
contacted his community offender manager and agreed that Mr Edwards would
receive a warning for being under the influence. After his induction, Mr Edwards left
the AP.
7. That evening, Mr Edwards had an altercation with some youths in a park and
sustained a head injury. Nottinghamshire Police found that the altercation was not
gang related. There is no indication that Mr Edwards previously knew any of the
group with whom he had the altercation.
8. On 8 December, Mr Edwards died in hospital. Two teenagers were subsequently
convicted of Mr Edwards’ murder.
Findings
9. Probation staff considered Mr Edwards’ fears that he would be a victim of violence
in Nottingham when determining whether to allocate him a place at Trent House.
The assault that led to his death was seemingly random and there is no evidence
that it was linked to gang activity.
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman 1
The Investigation Process
10. HMPPS notified us of Mr Edwards’ death on 11 December 2023.
11. The investigator issued notices to staff and prisoners at Trent House Approved
Premises informing them of the investigation and asking anyone with relevant
information to contact him. No one responded.
12. The investigator obtained copies of relevant extracts from Mr Edwards’ prison and
probation records.
13. The investigator interviewed four members of staff at Trent House AP on 1 and 2
February 2024 and a probation officer at the Mansfield Probation Office on 2
February.
14. We informed HM Coroner for Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire of the
investigation. We have sent the Coroner a copy of this report.
15. The Ombudsman’s office contacted Mr Edward’s mother to explain the investigation
and to ask if she had any matters she wanted us to consider. She did not respond.
16. We shared the initial report with HM Prison and Probation Service. They did not
identify any factual inaccuracies in the PPO report.
2 Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
Background Information
Trent House Approved Premises
17. Approved premises (formerly known as probation and bail hostels) mostly
accommodate offenders released from prison on licence and those directed there
by the courts as a condition of bail. Their purpose is to provide a supportive and
structured environment. Residents are responsible for their own healthcare and are
expected to register with a GP.
18. Trent House is situated on the outskirts of Nottingham and has 20 single rooms. A
key worker is allocated to each resident to discuss their progress and wellbeing.
The key worker also ensures that residents adhere to their individual licence
conditions and the rules of the approved premises.
Previous deaths at Trent House
19. Mr Edwards was the second resident of Trent House to die since December 2020.
The previous resident died due to COVID-19. To the end of May 2024, one more
resident of Trent House has died, as a result of a road traffic accident.
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman 3
Key Events
20. On 6 September 2023, Mr Jack Edwards was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison for
possession of a bladed article and sent to HMP Nottingham. Mr Edwards had
previously served prison sentences for violent offences. On his second day in
prison, Mr Edwards fought with another prisoner. He was charged with an offence
against prison discipline.
21. Mr Edwards was allocated a community offender manager (COM). On 13
September, she noted that Mr Edwards was linked to a gang from the Nottingham
area, and that this gang were rivals with three other local gangs. She noted that Mr
Edwards also claimed to have issues with three additional gangs.
22. On 20 September, a resettlement officer completed a basic custody screen. Mr
Edwards told her that he would be released from prison homeless. He said that he
was not fit for work and would not have a job on release. Mr Edwards declined
support with jobs or training and declined the offer of personal wellbeing support.
23. Mr Edwards told the resettlement officer that he had not been misusing illicit
substances or alcohol immediately before he went to prison. (Mr Edwards had
previously told prison staff that he used crack cocaine and MDMA (ecstasy) in the
community.) He said that he intended to work with the community drug and alcohol
services and was aware that this would be part of his licence conditions. The COM
told us that Mr Edwards had previously engaged with community drug and alcohol
services.
24. On 20 September, prison staff charged Mr Edwards with an offence against prison
discipline when he attempted to assault another prisoner.
25. On 29 September, the COM completed a referral for Mr Edwards to live in an
approved premises (AP) on his release.
26. On 2 October, Mr Edwards was transferred to HMP Ranby. Mr Edward was
allocated a prison offender manager.
27. On 13 October, Mr Edwards’ mother telephoned prison staff and told them that Mr
Edwards had been assaulted. Prison staff visited Mr Edwards and found that he
had been injured in an apparent fight.
28. On 3 November, an Approved Premises Manager accepted Mr Edwards’ at Trent
House AP. He said that Mr Edwards would have to agree to substance misuse
monitoring and room searches due to his history of violent offending and
possessing knives.
29. Mr Edwards told his COM that he did not want to go back to Nottingham to live
because he thought that he was at risk in the city from his links to gangs. She told
us that she knew Mr Edwards had a history of gang association, and she therefore
considered that this was potentially a genuine concern. She asked Mr Edwards for
a list of names of people he felt he was at risk from, which she passed on to the
Police Organised Crime Team and asked them to check and search on their
intelligence systems.
4 Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
30. On 23 November, the COM noted that an intelligence analyst from Nottinghamshire
Police had checked their intelligence systems and found no intelligence for the
names and groups provided. The police said that at that time they had no
information to suggest that Mr Edwards was at risk. She told us that she reported
this to her manager, and that they agreed that it did not impact Mr Edwards’
suitability for Trent House.
31. On 30 November, Mr Edwards emailed his COM (through the Email a Prisoner
system). Mr Edwards wrote that, because of his gang associations, he was
concerned that he was being released to an AP in Nottingham. He explained that
he felt depressed at this decision and now felt like taking his life.
32. The COM contacted a prison manager to ask for a welfare check to be completed.
An officer visited Mr Edwards and noted that Mr Edwards said he had just been
venting his frustrations as he did not want to be released back to Nottingham.
33. On 5 December, Mr Edwards was released on licence. His licence conditions
required him to report, at 2.00pm, to his COM at the Mansfield Probation Office. Mr
Edward’s licence required him to be at Trent House AP between 11.00pm and
6.00am every day, and to be tested for illicit drugs when required by his supervising
officer.
Events of 5 December 2023
34. At about 2.00pm on 5 December, Mr Edwards met his COM at the Mansfield
Probation Office for his initial appointment. Mr Edwards told her that he had met a
friend before he came to the appointment and had drunk a pint of beer. She noted
that Mr Edwards was under the influence of alcohol and suspected that he had
drunk more than he said. However, she noted that Mr Edwards was coherent
enough to go through the induction paperwork. She told Mr Edwards that he should
not attend probation or AP appointments under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
35. Mr Edwards told his COM that he was concerned for his safety in Nottingham. She
told him that the police had investigated his concerns and that there was no
information indicating a risk to his safety. She told Mr Edwards that he needed to
report any issues to Probation and the Police. She explained the AP rules, and Mr
Edwards confirmed that he understood them.
36. The COM emailed the AP and told them that Mr Edwards should be at the AP by
5.00pm, and that he had had a drink before his appointment.
37. At about 5.00pm, a residential worker met Mr Edward’s at Trent House. She said
that Mr Edwards was under the influence of cannabis and alcohol and that she
could smell both on him. Another residential support worker tested Mr Edwards for
illicit drugs. (The results of this test were not available before Mr Edwards died.)
38. The first residential worker conducted the AP induction but noted that Mr Edwards
was not paying attention and asked another probation service officer to assist.
When she had completed the induction, she took Mr Edwards to his allocated room
where he left his bags and followed her back to reception.
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman 5
39. Mr Edwards told the residential worker that he was going out for food, and she
reminded him that his curfew was at 11.00pm. A manager emailed the COM and
said that she would issue Mr Edwards with a warning for attending under the
influence and not engaging with the induction.
40. That evening, Mr Edwards had an altercation with a group of youths in the Sussex
Street Skate Park, Nottingham. Mr Edwards sustained a head injury and was taken
to hospital. A police detective inspector told us that the altercation was not gang
related.
41. On 8 December, Mr Edwards died in hospital. Two teenagers were subsequently
charged with his murder.
Contact with Mr Edwards’ family
42. On the evening of 5 December, Trent House staff assisted Nottinghamshire Police
to identify Mr Edwards’ family. Police officers subsequently told Mr Edwards’ family
about the incident and supported them afterwards.
Support for residents and staff
43. After the assault on Mr Edwards, the Approved Premises Manager debriefed the
staff who had met Mr Edwards at Trent House to ensure they had the opportunity to
discuss any issues arising, and to offer support. He reminded them of the available
support services.
44. After Mr Edwards’ death the Approved Premises Manager posted notices informing
other residents of Mr Edwards’ death and offering support.
45. The COM said that she was well supported by her manager following Mr Edwards’
death.
Post-mortem report
46. The post-mortem report and toxicology reports were not available when we issued
our report. Nottinghamshire Police investigators told us that Mr Edwards died as a
result of a head injury.
6 Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
Findings
47. Mr Edwards had a history of violence in prison and in the community. In the time
leading up to his release from prison he spoke of concerns that he would be a
victim of violence in the community due to his affiliation with gangs in the
Nottingham area. The COM appropriately reported these concerns to local police,
whose intelligence did not identify any specific risk to Mr Edwards. Police
investigators told us that the incident that led to Mr Edwards’ death was not gang
related. There is no evidence that Mr Edwards previously knew the youths with
whom he had an altercation.
48. On the day of his release, Mr Edwards attended a probation appointment and then
his AP induction seemingly under the influence of alcohol and, later, cannabis. AP
and probation staff appropriately arranged for Mr Edwards to receive a warning for
his behaviour.
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman 7
Third Floor, 10 South Colonnade Email: mail@ppo.gov.uk T l 020 7633 4100
Canary Wharf, London E14 4PU Web: www.ppo.gov.uk