Police contact with woman before her death - Staffordshire Police, July 2022

In July 2022, Staffordshire Police received a 999 call from a woman who was upset, asked for the police, and then abandoned the call. The incident log was categorised as an abandoned phone call. The call handler attempted to call the number back, but it was engaged and the call went straight to voicemail. A search of the telephone number provided her name and address and indicated that a domestic incident had occurred previously. The call hander regraded the response to immediate. 

At 11.09am, the call handler recorded their risk assessment on the incident log. Officers were sent to the address and cancelled further units upon arrival. At 11.39am, an officer recorded information on the log that it was not a domestic and he believed the call related to mental health concerns. The incident log was closed once the police departed.

A few days later, West Midlands Ambulance Service (WMAS) called Staffordshire Police to inform them they had been called to the same address following a report that someone was unconscious and not breathing. The WMAS crew conducted CPR, but the woman had died. Shortly after, Staffordshire Police arrested a man on suspicion of her murder. He was subsequently released on bail pending further enquiries.
    
During the investigation, a written account under misconduct caution was obtained from the officer under investigation and a  number of witness statements were obtained in addition to a quantity of evidence received during the course of enquiries, which was reviewed by the investigation.

Our investigation concluded in November 2023. We waited for an inquest to conclude in 2024, before publishing findings.

We concluded there was no indication any police officer or member of police staff may have behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings or committed a criminal offence. We did recommend one officer undergoes the reflective practice review process. 

The inquest found the woman died of natural causes who contracted severe hyperthermia as a result of COVID 19. 

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 not identified any learning.