Recommendation - South Wales Police, May 2021
We identified organisational learning from a death or serious injury review.
IOPC reference
Recommendations
The IOPC recommends that South Wales Police introduce a mandatory risk assessment for any individual who is attending a police station (or any other non-police location) for a voluntary interview in cases involving allegations of sexual abuse or indecent images of children. This could include:
· Pre Interview Assessment (at initial contact when arranging the interview with suspect);
· Arrival Assessment (arrival at interview);
· Post Interview Assessment (at the completion of the interview).
This matter has arisen following a review of a DSI matter, where it was identified that a subject of an investigation took an overdose after being requested by the Office in Case to attend for a voluntary interview. It has been identified that very little in the way of a risk assessment was carried out at the first point of contact with the subject and that there is no specific SWP policy to do so.
It is widely recognised that persons 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.
In my opinion, and based on my professional experience, a process to identify any risks when initial contact is made with a suspect could potentially reduce the risk of suicide or self-harm in cases involving this type of offence.