PRISON rules have left the prison ombudsman “concerned” in the wake of the death of a disgraced former teacher from Essex reports the Local Democracy Reporter.
Russell Howard-Tricker was almost halfway through a 14-year sentence for sexually abusing two teenage boys in the 1960s and 1970s when he died on March 18 2025, at HMP Littlehey.
The prison ombudsman has said it is “concerned” a policy around staff entering cells is not flexible enough after staff waited for backup when the 83-year-old former teacher and scout leader was seen collapsed in his cell.
He was almost halfway through a 14-year sentence for sexually abusing two teenage boys in the 1960s and 1970s.
He was based in Colchester at the time of the offending but was living in Prague when he was arrested. He was arrested in December 2018 at Birmingham Airport and later charged.
He admitted two counts of indecent assault in 2019 but denied one charge of buggery and one of indecent assault against the first victim. A jury convicted the former teacher of both crimes later that year.
The clinical reviewer concluded that the clinical care Mr Howard-Tricker received at Littlehey was of a reasonable standard and equivalent to that which he could have expected to receive in the community.
On the night that Howard-Tricker died, the night patrol officer found him lying on the floor of his cell semi-naked covered in urine and faeces.
She identified that he was breathing and moving his arms and legs and concluded that there was no immediate danger to life. In line with local and national policy, she did not immediately enter the cell to help Howard-Tricker. Instead, she requested and waited for additional staff to arrive.
Local and national policy on unlocking cells at night in an emergency instructs staff to make a dynamic risk assessment of whether it is safe to do so. This is interpreted that if they conclude that it is not safe to enter the cell alone, they must ask for additional staff to attend.
A statement from the ombudsman said: “Mr Howard-Tricker was 83 years old, in poor health and with very poor mobility and the night team had already been into his cell twice to support him.
“On the final occasion, the lone member of staff requested support from colleagues before entering the cell.
“We are concerned that the policy is not flexible enough to support staff faced with situations like this.
“However, the Governor set out the complex decision making process faced by staff at night, and that he fully supported their actions on the night Mr Howard-Tricker died and we are satisfied that he has given significant thought to whether there is any wider learning from Mr Howard-Tricker’s death.”
