The People's Tribunal On Police Killings

The People’s Tribunal on Police Killings has emerged as a radical grassroots initiative led by the families of those killed by the police in the UK. Following more than 3000 deaths at the hands of the police over the past 50 years there have only been 3 successful prosecutions leading to police officers being convicted and imprisoned . This figure is one of the lowest in the world. The disproportionate number of Black people killed represents the depth of racism that is ingrained in the police forces of the UK. Policing structures are corrupt and must be abolished. The rate of police killings has been steadily increasing since the 1970s. While police violence increases the prospect of justice rapidly diminishes. We wholly reject all claims  that this situation is improving, or that amendments or tweaks to the existing system will prevent further deaths.

The failure to prosecute successfully has led to the formation of the PTPK, supported by the United Families & Friends Campaign, Migrant Media, Black Lives Matter and 4WardEver. Its aim is to radically challenge the existing structures and ongoing collusion that had led to this failure of justice. The PTPK is led by the families and friends of those killed by the police and voluntary investigators, none of whom have faith that the system will ever deliver justice. We are instigating the reopening of all of these several thousand deaths and initiating their reinvestigations. These investigations will be led by lawyers from outside the UK, supported by an international team of activists and academics. This is only the first step in further action to come.

The People’s Tribunal on Police Killings has exposed the extent of this injustice and implement a series of actions to make the real revolutionary change that is needed. The PTPK adopts the position that an injury to one is an injury to all. We will no longer tolerate the media strategy of highlighting individual cases and narrativising these as exceptional. Justice for one is not justice for all. The blood of the victims of police violence has run dry but the tears have not stopped, and nor has the demand for justice. A generation of families have gone to their graves with the painful knowledge that the state has evaded any consequences of the killings of their loved ones. You cannot rest, or grieve, when the unresolved killing of your loved one is a shadow that follows you. A new generation is emerging—the children and grandchildren of those killed by the police continue to call for justice but the appeal is no longer to the British state. It is international.

The People’s Tribunal on Police Killings is a large and continually expanding team, comprised of four groups of participants:

• The families, friends and loved ones of those killed by the police. These families and friends have been fighting, organising and campaigning for justice for over fifty years and now through the radical initiative of  PTPK it is growing into a powerful movement.

• A team of voluntary supporting Instigators. Initiated through a public call out in 2022 the team continues to expand and includes activists, community artists, academics, legal professionals, data analysts and researchers.

• Our Tribunal Panel – Our international expert of activists has deep experience of allied liberation struggles and movements against state violence. Their role was to listen to the evidence presented, form a judgement on the actions to be taken for justice and continue to support the PTPK in our actions. They are: Mireille Fanon Mendès-France (Frantz Fanon Foundation, Martinique/France) Dr Mona El-Farra (Human rights and healthcare advocate, Palestine) Dr Joy James (Ebenezer Fitch Professor of Humanities at Williams College, USA) Emerson Caetano (Senior Fellow UN International Decade for People of African Descent, Brazil) Tony Doherty (Bloody Sunday Trust, Ireland) Esther Mamadou-Blanco (International Coalition for People of African Descent, Spain)

• Our Expert Witnesses  who focus on the five areas we identified as central to the struggle: 
• Torture: Dr Asim Qureshi (Research Director, CAGE UK)
• Language: Professor Gargi Bhattacharyya
• State cover-ups: Paul O’Connor (The Pat Finucane Centre)
• Terror: Luke Daniels
• Black Resistance: Professor Gus John
• Central to our investigation is our use of force analysis by our internal expert Rod Charles

The first PTPK meetings to involve and brief newly appointed investigators began in January 2023. Assembled in response to open calls and through existing networks of organising, a team of researchers were assigned dedicated cases from the 3000 people have been killed by the police within this period of time—the 30 cases investigated with the families involvement comprised roughly 1% of this total. This is expanding as the PTPK grows.

The PTPK team – composed of the family and friends of those killed and the supporting investigators – met regularly as a group to prepare the evidence document and plan actions. The first public hearings took place on 5th & 6th April 2025 in a historic gathering and the actions of the PTPK were announced.

The PTPK continues to meet and organise, build events, agitate and put into action our announcements on international and domestic Class Actions of a legal and political nature.