Woman found dead following concern for welfare report - Thames Valley Police, August 2017

On 18 August 2017 a member of staff from a mental health team reporting concerns to Thames Valley Police (TVP) about the welfare of a woman. The woman’s friends had informed the team that she had been texting about wanting to commit suicide at home by overdosing on her medication. The incident was graded as urgent. Two officers were sent to the woman’s flat, where they heard, and observed through a window, a woman heavily asleep and snoring loudly. The officers were unable to wake the woman despite repeatedly banding on the window. Although they could not see her face, they believed this to be the woman in question. After checking with their supervisor, the officers left her home with the intention to return later.

When the officers returned around three hours later, they could no longer hear snoring and decided it was appropriate to force entry, as there was a risk to life. The officers did not have method of entry equipment with them and had to return to their local station, where it took the officers around 45 minutes to locate an enforcer. Upon return to the woman’s home, the officers had initial difficulty breaking through the front door but eventually made entry and found the woman dead.

During the investigation, our investigators interviewed the officers and assessed their actions and decisions regarding the woman. Three police officers and two members of police staff were served with notices informing them that their conduct was under investigation as having potentially breached the standards of professional behaviour.

Investigators also interviewed witnesses to the incident. They analysed radio communication between force control room staff and officers involved in the incident.

Based on the evidence available, we were of the opinion that the two officers who went to the woman’s flat may have a case to answer for misconduct for not forcing entry when their first attended and, on the second occasion, as soon as they arrived. We were also of the opinion that the officers’ supervisor may also have a case to answer for misconduct for failing to identify that the potential risk to the woman had not been mitigated when he agreed with the officers to not use their powers to force entry on their first visit, and for failing to prompt the officers to ensure they were properly equipped to force entry should the circumstances have changed when they went back.

We found that the two members of staff had correctly graded the incident in line with TVP policy.

After reviewing our report, TVP agreed with our findings. One of the two officers who attended the woman’s flat received management action after a misconduct meeting, as did the supervisor. The second officer had left the force and therefore no further action could be taken.

We completed our investigation in August 2018 but waited until the inquest into the woman’s death had concluded, in early 2020, before publishing its outcome.