Tom Collister

Tom Collister was a 23-year-old graffiti artist from Penge who was arrested in October 2008 for criminal damage and graffiti. His story is so prolific as he took his own life in Camp Hill Prison after not being treated equally to his fellow gang members and being transferred to Camp Hill.
His work and its aims
Tom belonged to a gang of graffiti artists who were carrying out acts of vandalism across South London, mainly on trains and at stations. He was said to be linked to the tags SKEAMS, SKEAMZ, SKEAM and FDC.
His arrest
In October 2008 Tom was given a 30-month sentence for his crimes after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit criminal damage. He was sentenced along with the other three members of his gang, Darren Austin, who was given 18 months, William Setzdemspey who was given 15 months and Joshua Phiel who was given 12 months. All four members were initially taken to HMP Wandsworth, however in January 2009 Collister was transferred to Camp Hill Prison, making it much harder for his family to support him, while his co-defendants remained in Wandsworth. In February 2009 Tom's sentencing appeal was heard in London and the sentence was reduced by 10 months therefore meaning he was now only to serve 20 months. He was said to be severely distressed when he was told he would be returning to Camp Hill Prison to complete the remainder of his sentence and was found dead just four days later.
Findings from his court case
A statement from the inquest jury at the Coroner's Court in the Isle of Wight released their verdict claiming that there were several failures in the Prison's care system provided to Tom. The jury found many issues in the prison's supervision on the night of Collister's death. There was a lack of supervision resulting in lack of prisoner safety on the wing, the officer who found Collister did not have adequate training to deal with such an emergency situation, with no sense of how to react to suspected suicide or self-harm. They also lacked sufficient resuscitation and first-aid training. The family of Tom Collister believed that he had not intended to take his own life, it was a suspected cry for help that had gone severely wrong.
His legacy
Tom's funeral was held at Beckenham crematorium where hundreds of people attended to show their support to his family.

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