Recommendation - Devon and Cornwall Police, August 2020
At 4:10am on 13 March 2020, the parents of a male contacted Devon and Cornwall Police to report that he was not supposed to be at the address and had threatened to jump from a thirdfloor window. Officers attended the address at 4:23am, however after initial communication with the male it was established that he had barricaded himself in a room at the property and had gone onto the roof outside the room. Police negotiators were called to the address. The male had consumed alcohol and taken prescription drugs and was at risk of falling off the roof. The fire service placed ladders against the house however the male threatened to jump and kicked at the ladder and threw a bottle at fire and rescue officers. At 6:35am police forced entry to the room and the male jumped causing serious injuries as he landed on the patio below.
IOPC reference
Recommendations
The IOPC recommends that Devon and Cornwall Police take whatever action is necessary to ensure hostage negotiators are aware that BWV or voice recording equipment is being used throughout the duration of negotiations to ensure that all conversations and decisions are captured. This could be achieved via a debrief with negotiators.
Twenty minutes of the negotiations with the male were not captured via BWV or voice recording equipment. There does not appear to have been any communication at the scene to ensure that at least one officer had BWV recording throughout the incident. Three negotiators at the scene assumed the whole event would be captured by BWV but were mistaken.
Devon and Cornwall Hostage and Negotiations working practive (which is underpinned by the College of Policing APP hostage negotiations) make reference to the audio recording of negotiations, the identified learning will support early consideration of BWV being used at a scene.
Do you accept the recommendation?
Yes
Accepted action:
As above, nothing further to add. I agree that the identified learning will support early consideration of BWV being used at a scene