Response to concern for welfare call - South Yorkshire Police, June 2018

On 14 June 2018, a member of staff from Aspire Drug and Alcohol Services contacted South Yorkshire Police (SYP) to ask them to carry out a ‘safe and well’ check on a man. The Call Resolution Officer (CRO) who answered the call confirmed that SYP would visit the man’s home as a matter of priority. The Aspire staff member contacted SYP on 15 June 2018 and discovered that the check had not been conducted. On 15 June 2018, a member of staff from a homeless charity reported their concerns for the same man to SYP. Officers visited the man’s home, where, after forcing entry into the property, they found the man unconscious inside. He was later pronounced dead.

An inquest concluded in February 2019 that the man’s death was drug related.

Our investigators obtained a copy of the incident log the CRO had created in relation to the call on 14 June 2018. They also obtained a recording of the telephone call between the CRO and Aspire, which was found not to correspond with the entries recorded on the incident log. Investigators obtained copies of relevant SYP policies, obtained statements, examined telephone records and interviewed the CRO concerned under a misconduct caution. All police officers and staff co-operated fully with this investigation.

The CRO admitted that the entries they recorded on the incident log did not correspond to what was discussed during the telephone call. They maintained that it was an accurate reflection of their subsequent decision not to deploy police resources, as they felt the circumstances did not warrant a police response. They also said they had been unable to contact Aspire to inform them that no officers would be deployed.

While the CRO provided a persuasive explanation for the discrepancies between the telephone call transcript and their entry on the incident log, we were of the opinion that they should not have endorsed the log with what turned out to be a future action. They should have recorded their considerations, and the fact that they were unable to inform Aspire, and made arrangements to update them the next day when their office was open. Having considered all of these issues, we believed these matters could be dealt with by way of management action. We completed our investigation in November 2018.

After reviewing our report, SYP agreed with our findings in respect of the CRO. They also agreed to provide guidance to all CROs with regards to the relevant policy which should take primacy in situations such as this.