Failure to stop and police pursuit- Humberside Police, December 2021
On 16 April 2020, Humberside police received a call from a member of the public in relation to a domestic incident. Officers were deployed to locate a vehicle, which when identified failed to stop for an officer.
A pursuit was initiated lasting approximately 10 minutes, which ended when the vehicle being pursued collided with an HGV. The vehicle started to smoke, attempts were made to control the flames and gain access to the vehicle, and other emergency services were requested to attend. The occupant of the vehicle was later pronounced deceased at the scene.
IOPC Investigators attended the scene of the incident. Accounts were obtained from the officer and control room staff involved. Witness statements were also taken from the occupants of the HGV. Police car dash cam footage, body worn video, dashcam and nearby CCTV footage was reviewed and analysed.
During the investigation there was no indication any police officer may have behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings or committed a criminal offence”.
We carefully considered whether there were any learning opportunities arising from the investigation. We make learning recommendations to improve policing and public confidence in the police complaints system and prevent a recurrence of similar incidents. In this case, the investigation has identified learning.
IOPC reference
Recommendations
The IOPC recommends that Humberside Police should review and amend its policies and procedures for requesting support from National Police Air Support (NPAS) when officers are engaged in a pursuit, to align with Authorised Professional Practice (APP) and provide clarity to officers and staff. Policies should specify which role(s) within the control room have responsibility for decision making regarding NPAS involvement during a pursuit. All policies that reference criteria for requesting NPAS during a pursuit should be cross-referenced and, where possible, consolidated to reduce conflicting information and prevent confusion.
This follows an IOPC investigation into a vehicle pursuit that resulted in a fatality. The pursuing officer requested NPAS assistance via the control room and was informed that the incident did not meet the NPAS criteria. The evidence could indicate that it was not sufficiently considered, and this could constitute a missed opportunity to reduce the risk associated with the pursuit, as detailed in College of Policing APP which defines air support as ‘a valuable and effective operational option which reduces potential dangers’.
The force’s current policy could be considered ambiguous and does not clearly reflect the APP, which states that air support should be deployed in pursuit situations wherever possible and at the earliest opportunity. Also, a member of control room staff referred to an additional policy (not seen by the IOPC) that they said details specific criteria for requesting NPAS during a pursuit.
The control room supervisor who oversaw the pursuit stated they did not know the criteria for requesting NPAS during a pursuit and did not think it was their responsibility to do so. Humberside Police’s policy does not specify which role(s) within the control room has this responsibility.