Rough Death

Paul Williams was found frozen to death by a homeless-outreach officer on the streets outside the Bullring Shopping Centre in Birmingham on December 17, 2017, aged 38

Contents

  1. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism’s Database
  2. Unknown or Anonymous
  3. Deaths by Sex of Rough Sleeper
  4. ONS Data
  5. Seasonal Death Rates? ONS and The Bureau Compared
  6. A Few Case Histories

1. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism’s Database

Data here have been taken from The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, who obtain their data via crowd sourcing. Their data is summarised at the end of this article as Table 2. What this includes, which ONS data lack, are the names of the deceased (where available), and, in some cases, a brief biography.

The date given in Table 2 is the date of death, or more generally the date at which the body was found, which, in a few cases might be rather later than the death.  (This contrasts with ONS data which often give the date of the coroner’s inquest, which can be very much later). Northern Irish dates are labelled “sometime before”, but I interpret that as meaning the date the body was found.

The Bureau started collecting data in October 2017, so the data for England and Wales (and, I think, Scotland) relates to the period from October 2017 to the time of writing (December 2018), but only a few data for December 2018 are in as yet (e.g., Gyula Remes, the man who died outside the MPs’ entrance to the House of Commons on 19th December 2018, is not yet listed – though I’ve added him to my list). Hence these data relate to a period of 14 months.

The Northern Irish data relate to October 2017 to August 2018 (11 months).

There is no obligation on either national Government or local authorities to record data on the deaths of rough sleepers. The Bureau is therefore to be commended in being proactive in compiling these data. Despite many vulnerable people being known to the authorities, local journalists and charities are often the only ones that report these deaths. To compile their list, the Bureau makes use of their extensive network of local journalists to report to the Bureau’s central register what appears in local papers. In addition, the Bureau speaks to councils, hospitals, coroners’ offices, police forces, charities, GPs and NGOs.

The result is a set of definitely identified deaths, but there is no guarantee that all are captured; realistically many will not be. The total number of rough sleeper deaths will therefore be an under-estimate.

Table 1 summarises the data. In England and Wales, 294 deaths are listed, of which 118 (40%) were in Greater London (96 men, 18 women, 4 unspecified). In Scotland there were 103 deaths, and in Northern Ireland 149 deaths.

Given that Northern Ireland has by far the smallest population of the four nations of the UK, the death rate per million population is horrifyingly high. It is not clear if the data from Northern Ireland might have used a broader category of “homeless”, perhaps including some who would not have been classed as rough sleepers in the other nations. Taken at face value, however, the N.Irish death rate is alarming. We will see below that the greatest rough-sleeper death rates in the worst local areas of England and Wales do not exceed 21 per million. That in N.Ireland is over four times greater.

Table 1: Summary of Bureau Data by Nation

Nation Deaths Scaled to 12 months Deaths per year per million population
England & Wales 294 252 4.4
Scotland 103 88 16.3
N.Ireland 149 162 87.6
UK 546 502 7.7

The populations used to derived Table 1 were: England and Wales 57.9M, Scotland 5.4M, N.Ireland 1.85M.

We will see below that the ONS estimates a far larger total figure for the number of rough sleeper deaths in England and Wales in 2017 (namely 597, more than double that indicated by Tables 1 and 2 based on the Bureau’s database). This serves to illustrate how hard it is to capture rough sleeper deaths with the current ad hoc arrangements. You should therefore imagine the list in Table 2 – already disturbingly long – to be doubled in reality.

2. Unknown or Anonymous

The Bureau’s database does not always identify the name of the deceased. The labels “unknown” and “anonymous” are used. I take “unknown” to mean only that their source did not provide the name, though it might be known. However, I interpret “anonymous” to mean the deceased’s name was not known.

Half the Scottish cases and all the N.Irish cases were labelled “unknown”.

The number of deaths in England and Wales labelled “unknown” was 109 out of 294 (37%).

The number of people in England and Wales who died “anonymous”, or for whom only a first name or nickname was known, was 87 (30%). Some of those labelled “unknown” would undoubtedly fall into this category also, so the actual figure of “anonymous” deaths is greater still.

According to ONS estimates (see below) the Bureau have identified only a fraction of rough sleeper deaths, perhaps only about half. So, there are actually even more anonymous deaths.

3. Deaths by Sex of Rough Sleeper

The main list includes all the cases from England and Wales, and about half the cases from Scotland (mostly those in Glasgow). This list totals 351 deaths, and comprises 223 men, 38 women, and 90 cases where the sex is unknown. The rest of the Scottish data and all the N.Irish data does not specify the sex.

Hence, where sex has been recorded, 85% were men and 15% women. This is in good agreement with ONS estimates, below (84% men). There are 5.7 men dying on the streets for every woman who dies on the steets.

4. ONS Data

The ONS have been estimating rough sleeper deaths only since 2013. The methodology deployed by ONS starts with death registration records and searches on terms like “no fixed abode”, “homeless” and “night shelter” or the name or address of a known homeless hostel or project. Coroners’ inquest reports are also used as a source. In common with the Bureau’s approach, the ONS searches include homeless people who had been found in need of medical attention in the street and subsequently died in hospital, or other places of medical assistance. The ONS also deploy sophisticated statistical tools to include allowance for more deaths not captured by the direct searches. They state that, “this is a robust but conservative (lower bound) model, so that the figures produced should be taken as the lowest probable estimates.”

The ONS approach is “top down”, whereas the Bureau’s list is “bottom up”.

Key findings from the December 2018 ONS report: Deaths of homeless people in England and Wales: 2013 to 2017 were,

  • There were an estimated 597 deaths of homeless people in England & Wales in 2017 (an increase of 24% since 2013);
  • Men accounted for 84% of these deaths;
  • The top three causes of deaths of the homeless in 2017 were drug poisoning (32%), suicide (13%) and alcohol-specific (10%)
  • Although there is a concentration of homeless in London, and hence a concentration of homeless deaths in London, the rough sleeper death rate per million people (15.4) is not the largest, being exceeded by the West of England (21.0), Liverpool (20.5) and Greater Manchester (17.8).
  • The peak age for the deaths of rough sleeping men is 45-49, and for women 35-39 (see Figure 1). You don’t live to be old on the streets.

Figure 1: ONS estimate of rough sleeper deaths in England and Wales in 2017 by sex and age (click to enlarge)

5. Seasonal Death Rates? ONS and The Bureau Compared

The date of deaths (or their discovery) are provided by the Bureau data for England, Wales and part of Scotland (mostly Glasgow), and separately for N.Ireland. The resulting histogram is shown in Figure 2, from October 2017 to November 2018. What this Figure mostly reveals is that the data for September 2018 to November 2018 look incomplete. Possibly data is still being compiled for those recent months, or perhaps the Bureau’s sources have become less energetic of late.

Ignoring those months, and looking at the data for England, Wales and Glasgow, whilst January has the largest number of deaths, and April, May and August the least, a clear seasonal trend is rather undermined by the data for June and July. There is perhaps a clearer trend in the N.Irish data, though even here December and March are anomalous (and recall that March 2018 had particularly severe freezing weather).

Figure 3 is the equivalent data from ONS, Deaths of homeless people in England and Wales: 2013 to 2017. The ONS are unequivocal, stating, “deaths of homeless people lacked a clear seasonal pattern when analysed by month of death. The level of excess winter mortality found in the general population was not apparent”. The ONS used a much larger dataset, namely five years of data, in compiling Figure 3. Surprising though it seems, a seasonal death variation is not apparent.

Figure 2: Deaths per month: Bureau data – click to enlarge

Figure 3: Deaths per month: ONS data (England & Wales) – click to enlarge

6. A Few Case Histories

Chris Conlin, who died in Leigh, on November 5, 2017, aged 31, became homeless after the death of his mother and brother. Local residents who knew him said he prioritised food for his dog over himself.

Brodie Rippindale died aged 31 in the closed doorway of a shut Salvation Army office in Falmouth, on 6 December 2017.

Istvan Kakas died in Bath, on October 16, 2018, aged 52. He had been a chef working under both Gordon Ramsay and Michael Caines and had completed more than 250 parachute jumps while on military service. He received a heroism award from the mayor of Bath after he helped save a man and his daughter from drowning. He began selling the Big Issue in 2010.

Craig Cunningham died sleeping rough in Chester, on October 25, 2018. He used to manage a Kwiksave store before falling on hard times.

Ben, of unknown surname, died in Retford, on February 27, 2018, aged 53. He died in his tent in freezing weather conditions. He had only recently been discharged from hospital after being treated for pneumonia. According to a local woman who knew him, Ben had worked as a bricklayer but had stopped working after the death of his partner seven years earlier.

Rob O’Connor died in Chelmsford, on February 23, 2018. He died in a shop doorway on a night when temperatures dropped to -2C. Rob had recently undergone treatment for cancer and had his voice box removed.

An unidentified man died in Barnsley, on February 12, 2018. His body was found in the woods outside Barnsley in freezing cold temperatures. A local homeless charity told the press: “It is unbelievable the conditions they are living in out there, where they are sitting outside absolutely frozen. And there are two or three who have dogs and they would wrap them up rather than themselves. They are wearing four or five layers of clothing just to survive, not only through the night but through the day too.”

Kenneth Howson died in Leeds, on January 5, 2018, aged 65. Kenneth’s decomposed body was found in a field where he lived in a tent.

Jean Louis du Plessis died in Bristol, on January 3, 2018, aged 41. He was found unresponsive and in a “sleeping position” in a car park during the freezing weather of Storm Eleanor. An inquest found him to be in a state of “prolonged starvation”.

Colin Ellis was found dead behind the steering wheel of his car, in which he lived, in late autumn 2017. By the time he was discovered, he had been there for several days. Charity workers recalled Mr Ellis regularly bought food and gave his own cash to other people on the streets.

Darren Greenfield died in Edinburgh, in December, 2017, aged 48, after years of sleeping rough. He had served with the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, the Royal Army Pay Corps and the Adjutant General’s Corps. He became homeless after leaving the army.

Anthony Barnard died in Lowestoft, on December 28, 2017, aged 57. Mr Barnard was found dead in the garden of his former home.

Allan “Scotch” Alexander died while sleeping rough in a car park in Taunton, on Boxing Day 2017. A fellow rough sleeper, told local news: “We went to sleep on the top layer of the car park. I had a quilt, but Alan didn’t have anything except the clothes he was in. It was really cold and raining heavily. We were wet through.”. The day before his death Allan was seen giving away a Christmas meal to a homeless woman by a member of the public.

Henryk Smolarz died in Plymouth city centre, on March 12, 2018, aged 62. His name was provided by a fellow rough sleeper. He was believed to have been Polish and friends say he was a physicist and mathematician.

Hamid Farahi died in Church Langley, in March, 2018, aged 55. Hamid, a quantum physicist who fought in Iraq, was living in the back of his car in a Tesco car park. He moved to a shelter during the cold weather and passed away there.

Stephen Kinghorn was born in South Shields, Country Durham. He attended a sailing school in Hull for five years where he took part in 93/94 tall ships race, coming third with his team. The team also helped to build a school in a remote village in Zimbabwe and sailed to various other places. Stephen left as a fully qualified skipper of small vessels. Things started going downhill when his first child was stillborn and continued to slip further downwards. Stephen went to London and was involved with Love Activists and a homeless kitchen trying to get food for fellow homeless and protesting, etc. He was proud of being part of that. Then his second child died, which was the catalyst to sending him rock bottom. Stephen died in London on 19th March 2018. He was 39 years old.

Ryan McGurgan died in Leeds, on April 10, 2018, aged 33. He was found dead in a hostel for homeless men on the morning he was due to be recalled to prison.

Mary Lane died in Gravesend, on April 22, 2018, aged 53. Her body was found in a sleeping bag in the woods. She was not identified for many weeks and it was apparent she had been there for some time.

Only known as “Tibby”, this Romanian man died in his wheelchair after volunteers reported he looked frail and very neglected (Stratford, June 7, 2018, aged 50).

An unnamed 22 year-old woman was found on fire at an emergency shelter hostel in Derby on August 25, 2018. She was taken to hospital where she died. A city support worker told the press “She had her issues in life but the most tragic thing in all of this is that she was getting better.”

An unnamed 31 year old man was found dead on Westgate, Wakefield, on August 20, 2018. The manager of the Community Awareness Programme said “We are watching them die – you end up getting used to it and we don’t want that to happen.”

Remigiusz Boczarski had been living in a bus shelter in Malvern when he died, apparently from suicide, on October 30, 2018, aged 40. A local woman who befriended him told press: “He would turn up at my door and I would wash his clothes and give him a meal. He was always a really nice guy. He never overstayed his welcome.” It seems he decided not to overstay his welcome on this mortal coil, either.

Table 2: The complete Bureau data as of 27/12/18

Name Date Location
Chris McGregor Oct’17 York
James Abbott Oct’17 Glasgow
Anonymous man Oct’17 London
Shaun McClenaghan Oct’17 London
Anonymous man 6 Oct’17 London
Anonymous man 8 Oct’17 London
Unknown 4 Oct’17 Glasgow
Unknown 9 Oct’17 Glasgow
Jeffrey Hepburn Oct’17 Leeds
John Smith Oct’17 Ramsgate
Vadims Saltis Oct’17 King’s Lynn
Uknown Oct’17 East Dunbartonshire
Unknown 18 Oct’17 Glasgow
Alan Cambell Oct’17 Leeds
Anonymous man 26 Oct’17 London
Saulius Kantakevicius Oct’17 Tottenham
Robert Bertlett Oct’17 Brighton
Tomasz Suliga Oct’17 Blackburn
Paul Larner Oct’17 Bristol
Anonymous “Geordie” Oct’17 Leeds
William Richardson Oct’17 Manchester
Andre Meehan Oct’17 Bristol
William Morley Oct’17 Bristol
Unknown1 Oct’17 Brighton
Unknown2 Oct’17 Brighton
Unknown1 Oct’17 Bristol
Unknown2 Oct’17 Bristol
Unknown3 Oct’17 Bristol
Unknown 2 Nov’17 Glasgow
Unknown1 3 Nov’17 Glasgow
Unknown2 3 Nov’17 Glasgow
Unknown3 3 Nov’17 Glasgow
Chris Conlin Nov’17 Leigh
Gordon ? Nov’17 Dundee
Anonymous man 6 Nov’17 London
Anonymous man 7 Nov’17 London
Anonymous1 man 10 Nov’17 London
Anonymous2 woman 10 Nov’17 London
Anonymous1 woman 12 Nov’17 London
Anonymous2 man 12 Nov’17 London
Anonymous man 13 Nov’17 London
Anonymous 12 Nov’17 Glasgow
Anonymous 14 Nov’17 Glasgow
Anonymous 15 Nov’17 Glasgow
Sanjeev Kumar Nov’17 Ilford
Anonymous man 19 Nov’17 London
Aaron Andrews Nov’17 Cambridge
Lindy Louise Pring Nov’17 Cardiff
Unknown Nov’17 Glasgow
Unknown Nov’17 Northampton
Anonymous man 28 Nov’17 London
Ryszard Najdek Nov’17 Ilford
Balbaar Singh Nov’17 Redbridge
Unknown1 Nov’17 Brighton
Unknown2 Nov’17 Brighton
Unknown3 Nov’17 Brighton
Unknown Nov’7 Outer Hebrides
Neculai Popa Dec’17 Islington
Unknown 5 Dec’17 Glasgow
Unknown Dec’17 Hanley
Brodie Rippindale Dec’17 Falmouth
Paul Williams Dec’17 Birmingham
Anonymous man 17 Dec’17 London
Anonymous man 18 Dec’17 London
Anonymous man 19 Dec’17 London
Unknown 19 Dec’17 Glasgow
Leslie Smith (male) Dec’17 Hull
Anonymous man 23 Dec’17 London
Christopher ? Dec’17 London
John Smith Dec’17 Chester
David Fuller Dec’17 Chesterfield
Allan Alexander “Scotch” Dec’17 Taunton
Anonymous man 27 Dec’17 London
Unknown 26 Dec’17 Glasgow
Unknown 27 Dec’17 Glasgow
Anthony Barnard Dec’17 Lowestoft
Louise Beddingfield Dec’17 Bognor Regis
Nigel Walley Dec’17 Leeds
Darren Green Dec’17 Edinburgh
Unknown Dec’17 Brighton
Kevin O’Hanlon Dec’17 Manchester
Kumarasamy Vasanthakumar Dec’17 London
Unknown1 Dec’17 Hastings
Unknown2 Dec’17 Hastings
Unknown3 Dec’17 Hastings
Nigel Ogeah 2017 Bristol
Colin Ellis 2017 Havering
Anonymous man 2 Jan’18 London
Neil Martin Jan’18 Maidstone
Jean Louis du Plessis Jan’18 Bristol
Unknown man Jan’8 Liverpool
Anonymous man 5 Jan’18 London
Kenneth Howson Jan’18 Leeds
Fiona Watson Jan’18 Leeds
Jacqueline Hamilton Jan’18 London
Matthew Small Jan’18 Leicester
Anonymous man 12 Jan’18 London
Laura Cairns Jan’18 Leamington Spa
Anonymous man 13 Jan’18 London
Unknown 13 Jan’18 Glasgow
Unknown 14 Jan’18 Glasgow
Unknown Jan’18 Northampton
Anthony Richardson Jan’18 Grimsby
Russel Lane Jan’18 Rochester
Anonymous man 17 Jan’18 London
Anonymous man 21 Jan’18 London
Unknown Jan’18 Havering
Kevon Fillsell Jan’18 Bournemouth
Anonymous man 22 Jan’18 London
Donna Marshall Jan’18 London
Detlef Schadowski Jan’18 London
Anonymous man 28 Jan’18 London
Unknown man Jan’18 Windsor
Anonymous “Honda” Jan’18 Sheffield
Anonymous man 29 Jan’18 London
Steve ? Jan’18 Dudley
Philip Luce Jan’18 Bristol
Martin Ripley Jan’18 Canterbury
Richard Racketts Jan’18 London
Pepe ? Jan’18 Stratford
Unknown Jan’18 Northampton
Kayla Terry Jan’18 Norwich
Unknown Jan’18 Brighton
Unknown Jan’18 Shetlands
Unknown man Jan’18 Cambridge
Unknown Feb’18 East Ayrshire
Anonymous man 1 Feb’18 London
Unknown Feb’18 Cochester
Anonymous man 5 Feb’18 London
Adam Zajac Feb’18 Bristol
Gareth Turp Feb’18 Milton Keynes
Anonymous man 7 Feb’18 London
Unknown 9 Feb’18 Northampton
Anonymous man 9 Feb’18 London
Anonymous man 11 Feb’18 London
Unknown 11 Feb’18 Glasgow
Unknown man Feb’18 Barnsley
John Mongan Feb’18 Manchester
Cecilia Carmichael Feb’18 Manchester
Marcos Gourgel Feb’18 Westminster
Anonymous man 13 Feb’18 London
Unknown 14 Feb’18 Glasgow
Unknown 18 Feb’18 Glasgow
Unknown 19 Feb’18 Glasgow
Michael Straw Feb’18 Taunton
Unknown Feb’18 Edinburgh
Unknown 23 Feb’18 Northampton
Rob O’Conner Feb’18 Chelmsford
Daniel Hutton Feb’18 Burton
Ben ? Feb’18 Retford
Anonymous man 27 Feb’18 London
Henrik Bartlomiej Feb’18 Watford
Aaron French-Willcox Feb’18 Cardiff
“Jayjay” Feb’18 Islington
Unknown3 Feb’18 Northampton
Unknown Feb’18 Milton Keynes
Robert Wallis Mar’18 Canterbury
Unknown 4 Mar’18 Glasgow
Unknown man Mar’18 Preston
Valerie Collins Mar’18 Peterborough
Unknown 5 Mar’18 London
Henryk Smolarz Mar’18 Plymouth
Anonymous man 12 Mar’18 London
Martin ? Mar’18 Dundee
Marek Drywa Mar’18 Reading
Anonymous woman Mar’18 Norwich
Shelly Pollard Mar’18 Canterbury
Stephen Kinghorn Mar’18 London
Unknown man Mar’18 Market Harborough
Unknown1 23 Mar’18 Glasgow
Unknown2 23 Mar’18 Glasgow
John Barnes Mar’18 Manchester
Neil Gibson Mar’18 Manchester
“Irish Keith” Mar’18 London
Unknown 28 Mar’18 Glasgow
Unknown 30 Mar’18 Glasgow
Adrian Hicks Mar’18 Taunton
Simon Day Mar’18 Southend-on-Sea
Hamid Farahi Mar’18 Church Langley
Betty Brown Mar’18 London
Gary James Mar’18 London
Steve McGregor Mar’18 London
Unknown1 Mar’18 Brighton
Unknown Mar’18 Kettering
Unknown2 man Mar’18 Brighton
Parmajit Singh Mar’18 ? London
Unknown 1 Apr’18 Glasgow
Unknown 4 Apr’18 Glasgow
Unknown 8 Apr’18 Glasgow
William Morrow 4 Apr’18 Brighton
Anonymous woman 7 Apr’18 London
Anonymous man 9 Apr’18 London
Ryan McGurgan Apr’18 Leeds
Elliot ? Apr’18 Boston
Arna Bud-Husain (male) Apr’18 Brighton
Mary Lane Apr’18 Gravesend
Martin Dines Apr’18 Colchester
Anonymous man 23 Apr’18 London
Robert Robertson Apr’18 Bedford
Phil Hancock Apr’18 Newquay
William Follett Apr’18 Dover
Dan Greenwood Apr’18 Swindon
Lesley Roberts (female) Apr’18 Swansea
Chris Moyes Apr’18 London
Kevin Moore Apr’18 Islington
Unknown Apr’18 Brighton
Anna Raynes Apr’18 Bath
Unknown Apr’18 Shetlands
Unknown 1 May’18 Glasgow
Anonymous woman 2 May’18 London
Anonymous woman 11 May’18 London
Anonymous woman 14 May’18 London
Anonymous man 15 May’18 London
Unknown 18 May’18 Glasgow
Unknown 19 May’18 Glasgow
Anonymous man 15 May’18 London
Arunesh Thangarajah May’18 Mitcham
Anonymous man 22 May’18 London
Anonymous man 23 May’18 London
Anonymous woman 15 May’18 London
Unknown woman 26 May’18 Islington
Catrina ? May’18 Stratford
Unknown man May’18 Barnstable
Alain Ettiern Simmonds Jun’18 Shifnal, Shropshire
Rallf Galenieks Jun’18 Bristol
Anonymous woman 2 Jun’18 London
Ricky Jones Jun’18 Wrexham
James Moore Jun’18 York
Unknown 5 Jun’18 Glasgow
“Tibby” (male) Jun’18 Stratford
Unknown Jun’18 Northampton
Anonymous man 9 Jun’18 London
Paul Andrews Jun’18 Stratford
Tracy Patsalides Jun’18 Eastbourne
Anonymous man 13 Jun’18 London
Anonymous woman 13 Jun’18 London
Anonymous woman 15 Jun’18 London
Raja Sekar Jun’18 Tooting
Anonymous man 16 Jun’18 London
Stephen Donoghue Jun’18 Manchester
Anonymous man 21 Jun’18 London
Jasandeep Singh Jun’18 Hounslow
Christopher Matthews Jun’18 Northampton
Unknown 25 Jun’18 Glasgow
Unknown man Jun’18 Birmingham
Daniel Clements Jun’18 Shrewsbury
Unknown 28 Jun’18 Glasgow
Noah Jones Jun’18 Tunbridge Wells
Unknown Jun’18 Blackpool
Anonymous man 30 Jun’18 London
Nick Pullinger Jun’18 London
Kevin Tridgell Jun’18 Canterbury
Unknown Jun’18 Argyll and Bute
Emma Winterton Jun’18 Sandhurst
Anonymous woman 3 Jul’18 London
“CB” (male) 4 Jul’18 Brighton
Anonymous man 4 Jul’18 London
Unknown Jul’18 Northampton
Terry Taylor Jul’18 Kidderminster
Fabian Bayet Jul’18 Mablethorpe
Unknown 8 Jul’18 Glasgow
David Massey Jul’18 Blackpool
Steven Beattie Jul’18 Porthcawl
Unknown Jul’18 Leamington Spa
Jason Wager Jul’18 Leeds
Jayne Simpson Jul’18 Stafford
Unknown 17 Jul’18 Glasgow
Anonymous man 18 Jul’18 London
Dermot Mulligan Jul’18 Maidstone
Anonymous man1 20 Jul’18 London
Anonymous man2 20 Jul’18 London
Donn Joseph Morgan Jul’18 Manchester
Kenny ? Jul’18 Dundee
Unknown Jul’18 Dundee
Stuart White Jul’18 Bath
Unknown Jul’18 Ilford
Eleanor Boulton Jul’18 Oxford
Luke Urmston Jul’18 Manchester
Wesley Gurney Jul’18 Canterbury
Andrew Te Hira Jul’18 London
Michael Hill July’18 Kidderminster
Unknown July’18 Northampton
Unknown July’18 Outer Hebrides
Stephanie Fraser 1 Aug’18 Dundee
Anonymous man 1 Aug’18 London
Anonymous man 2 Aug’18 London
Anonymous man 6 Aug’18 London
Andrew O’Connell Aug’18 Brighton
Barry Bamber Aug’18 Liverpool
“EP” (male) Aug’18 Northampton
Unknown man Aug’18 Rochford
Unknown man Aug’18 Wakefield
Unknown man Aug’18 Newhaven
Unknown 22 Aug’18 Glasgow
Unknown Aug’18 Norwich
Anonymous woman 26 Aug’18 London
Unknown woman Aug’18 Derby
Kawal Singh Aug’18 Ilford
Paul Bradley Aug’18 Taunton
Ian Kirkland Aug’18 Paisley
Mariusz Usik Aug’18 London
Igor ? Aug’18 Fitzrovia
Unknown man Sep’18 Newcastle
Unknown Sep’18 Argyll and Bute
Unknown man Sep’18 Exeter
Terry ? Sep’18 Isle of Wight
Anonymous man 15 Sep’18 London
Michael Cash Sep’18 Eston
Unknown 26 Sep’18 East Ayrshire
Unknown 29 Sep’18 East Ayrshire
Linda Grimes Sep’18 Burton
John Holland Oct’18 Corby
David Oxton Oct’18 Manchester
Graham Green Oct’18 Sheffield
Istvan Kakas Oct’18 Bath
Unknown man 20 Oct’18 Manchester
Unknown man 21 Oct’18 Manchester
James Lee Oct’18 Bath
Unknown man1 27 Oct’18 Plymouth
Unknown man2 27 Oct’18 Plymouth
Craig Cunningham Oct’18 Chester
Unknown man Oct’18 Camden
Remigiusz Boczarski (male) Oct’18 Malvern
Sodhi Singh Nov’18 Ilford
Edward Hinds Nov’18 Peterborough
Joanne Jones Nov’18 Bath
“SC” (male) Nov’18 Northampton
Jay Hopper Nov’18 Bristol
Andrew Davie Nov’18 Blackburn
Lee Jenkinson Dec’18 Leeds
Unknown Dec’18 Cardiff
Gyula Remes Dec’18 London (Westminster)
The following have no specified month of death…
Simon Lacey 2018 Canterbury
Barbara Smith 2018 London
Jason Cox 2018 Canterbury
Andrew Petty 2018 London
Matthew Laurie 2018 London
Gary Young 2018 London
Konrad Bratek 2018 London
Wieslaw Pawelek 2018 London
Jaroslaw Lebda B 2018 London
Jan Szabla 2018 London
Cosmin Petrescu 2018 London
John Gillespie 2018 London
Piotr Krowka 2018 London
Unknown x4 ? 2018 Newhaven
Unknown x2 ? 2018 Harlow
The following relate to Scotland….
Unknown x20 2018 Edinburgh
Unknown x3 2018 Angus
Unknown x3 2018 Stirling
Unknown x2 2018 Falkirk
Unknown x7 2018 Highland
Unknown 2018 Clackmannanshire
Unknown 2018 Moray
Unknown x5 2018 Inverclyde
Unknown x4 2018 Renfrewshire
The following relate to Northern Ireland (149 cases, Oct’17 to Aug’18).

None were named, nor was the sex identified. Regions were specified but not recorded here….

Unknown x13 Oct’17
Unknown x23 Nov’17
Unknown x9 Dec’17
Unknown x21 Jan’18
Unknown x17 Feb’18
Unknown x7 Mar’18
Unknown x14 Apr’18
Unknown x13 May’18
Unknown x8 Jun’18
Unknown x11 Jul’18
Unknown x12 Aug’18

7 thoughts on “Rough Death

  1. Michael McVeigh

    I think the problem with the Northern Ireland stats lie with the Northern Ireland Housing Executive stating “The NIHE said that the 148 deaths need to be seen in the context of it accepting 11,877 applications for homelessness during the 2017/18 financial year and that all of the individuals could have availed of temporary accommodation should it have been required. It doesn’t record the causes of death in these cases.”
    Most rough sleepers in Northern Ireland are in Belfast and the idea that one rough sleeper dies every 2 days or so is counter intuitave – the total number of rough sleepers in Belfast is probably in the dozens.
    The total of 11,877 applications in all probability, is indicative of people using NIHE rules to jump the housing queue and as such are not rough sleepers.
    I would hope that better statistics by the ONS would break down differing categories of people who are not “homed”

    Reply
  2. Douglas Milnes

    That is great work the Bureau are doing and I congratulate you in compiling it into statistical form.

    > I take “unknown” to mean only that their source did not provide the name, though it might be known.
    > However, I interpret “anonymous” to mean the deceased’s name was not known.

    Personally, I would have assumed that the other way around. “Unknown” would surely indicate that the person’s name is not known, whereas “anonymous” would be that the name may be known but is being withheld.

    In considering statistical data on deaths of those with no home, the terms ‘rough sleeper’ and ‘homeless’ (certainly as used by the government) are problematic. Last I looked into this area, I found that if a rough sleeper manages to get a couple of days in a hostel, he would officially no longer be a ‘rough sleeper’ but simply ‘homeless’. However, if he dies in the hostel (a not unlikely occurrence for someone seriously ill enough to warrant one of the few hostel places), he would be officially listed as someone who died while homeless. In fact, what he died of is rough sleeping. Hospitals which admit a patient who has been a rough sleeper, who subsequently dies, will normally record it as the death of a rough sleeper .. unless the local authority have found housing for them in the meantime, in which case they are listed as being of that address even though they may never have seen the accommodation.

    “There are 5.7 men dying on the streets for every woman who dies on the streets.”
    Yeah, those patriarchal abusers being always in the lead. See how they oppress women! Seriously, while feminists are arguing for a few hundred more women promoted by quota into boardrooms, they are happy to ignore the hundreds of dead men.

    That there is no seasonal trend in rough sleeper deaths is surprising but perhaps this is because it inversely matches a seasonal trend in the numbers of homeless. Until data for the number of homeless – even in a limited area – is available month by month, we cannot know. Even a mentally impaired person will be more wary of finding themselves on the streets overnight in winter than during summer.

    Reply
    1. paul parmenter

      Re the lack of seasonal trend: I wonder if winter also brings about a greater impetus for helping those in need. There certainly seems to be a stronger push by supportive charities, and I suspect a stronger reaction from the public, during the season of goodwill and the worst of the weather. If so, it indicates that concerted efforts can make a difference.

      In all conscience, it cannot be above the ability of a comparatively rich first world country of 65+ million people with a well established welfare state, to save the lives of maybe less than 1,000 poor souls at the absolute rock bottom of society. If only there were some priority given to them, of course. But then again, this site is not named the Illustrated Empathy Gap for nothing.

      Reply
    1. Douglas Milnes

      Not at all. These deaths and the destruction of men generally are the result of long-term planning. This is feminism in action. They aren’t embarrassed, they are only upset that the numbers aren’t much higher. People who still think that feminism is some fluffy do-good movement to get equality really need to have this kind of result shoved under their noses and talked through just how it is feminist policies that have brought it about.

      Reply
      1. Dick Morris

        Yep. Feminism continually calls for more public money to be spent on women’s problems, and the feminist apparatchiks who operate the feminist state. As we have seen, when it is suggested that some money is spent on men – on safe houses for those suffering domestic abuse, perhaps – the feminists go bananas. Their usual line of argument in that case is: “but female victims outnumber male ones “. That is feminist logic, of course. If it were used in a cancer treatment setting, they would be calling for male victims of breast cancer not to be treated because they are greatly outnumbered. And I don’t see it changing I’m afraid.

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