Recommendation - Hampshire Constabulary, September 2023

The IOPC recommends that Hampshire Constabulary amends its policy on voluntary attendance interviews to ensure that:

A) Officers investigating allegations of sexual offences involving children, in particular child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA) or indecent images of children (IIOC), consider all suspects as potentially vulnerable and at risk of suicide.

B) Officers carry out a self-harm and suicide risk assessment when inviting a person to attend a voluntary interview in relation to allegations of CSE or IIOC. Policy and guidance should support officers to proactively identify prior to interview the risk of self-harm or suicide and manage those risks.

C) Officers record all risk assessments, including any steps taken to manage the risk of self-harm and suicide, on force systems.

Hampshire Constabulary should make sure that any amended policy has regard to the College of Policing’s operational advice on managing the risk of suicide for persons under investigation for online child sexual abuse and exploitation. The need to complete a risk assessment prior to interview does not negate the need to conduct other risk assessments as part of the voluntary attendance process.

This recommendation follows an IOPC review of a DSI (Death or Serious Injury) involving an individual who, having been invited to attend a voluntary interview in relation to an allegation of an historic sexual offence involving a child, took their own life prior to the interview taking place.

It is understood the individual had no police history / warning markers, and it is further noted that officers did attend in person which enabled them to gauge any risk concerns. Whilst the individual was not informed of the alleged offence, they were told that it related to a time when they were a teacher which could potentially have alerted them to it’s likely nature, although it should not be discounted that the individual might otherwise have held an existing belief as to the likely allegation.

Whilst it is noted that the individual’s demeanour and presentation gave officers no cause for concern, it is widely recognised that individuals suspected/arrested for sexual abuse offences – in particular those involving children and possession of indecent images of children - are vulnerable to a high risk of suicide or self-harm. Having engaged with the force, it appears there is no specific policy currently in place in relation to risk assessing suspects invited for voluntary interviews. It is possible that a more formal, focused and structured risk assessment process carried out at this time may have alerted officers to an increased risk of self-harm or suicide, which they could have acted upon, with relevant advice or sign-posting.

Recommendations accepted:

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary accepts all the recommendations (A, B and C) in full.

The force lead for voluntary attendance interviews is in the process of reviewing the Constabulary’s policy, working with other key stakeholders in relevant departments who investigate allegations of CSEA and IIOC.

An amended force policy will be published before the end of 2023 which will direct that a risk assessment will be undertaken with a suspect at the point of arranging a voluntary interview which must then be reviewed as the investigation progresses. The revised policy will have regard to the College of Policing’s operational advice on managing the risk of suicide for persons under investigation for online child sexual abuse and exploitation.

The Professional Standards Department will track the implementation of the revised policy.