Investigation into the circumstances in which a man suffered serious injuries - South Wales Police, November 2021

In November 2021, South Wales Police attended an address in Swansea in response to a concern for the welfare of one of the occupants. The person in question was spoken to and reassured by the officers. He appeared calm and aware and the officers left. Approximately three hours later the ambulance service were called to the same address. The same person had fallen from his third floor bedroom window onto the ground below and suffered serious injuries which proved fatal. 

We obtained evidence from South Wales Police and the ambulance service, including recordings of phone calls and records of the response, statements from the officers who attended the address and evidence of the investigation into the person’s fall. Medical evidence of the person’s injuries was also considered. The evidence was compared with the relevant legal provisions and national and local police policies regarding the police response to people at risk and people with mental ill-health.

We concluded there was no indication that a person serving with the police may have committed a criminal offence or behaved in a manner justifying the bringing of disciplinary proceedings.

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, we did not identify organisational learning.