Serco Fined £2.25 Million for Health and Safety Failings in Death of Custody Officer

Serco, a security contractor, has been fined £2.25 million for health and safety failings that led to the death of one of its custody officers, Lorraine Barwell, who was killed by a prisoner, Humphrey Burke, in 2015.

The court found that Serco had breached its duty towards its employees, and had failed to take adequate measures to prevent the attack on Ms Barwell.

Serco admitted two limited breaches in relation to the attacks on its staff, but denied its actions directly led to the harm suffered by the two women.

The court found Serco's level of culpability for the offence was high, and that there had been an "obvious and avoidable" risk posed to Ms Barwell by Burke.

The prosecution alleged that the attacks on custody officers within the January 2014 to March 2017 period demonstrated what could happen if the right health and safety steps were not taken.

Serco has apologised for the incident and said it continuously strives to ensure such an incident can never happen again.