Management of a potential crime scene - Bedfordshire Police, October 2016

On 10 October 2016 a member of the public found a woman hanging in a flat in Luton, Bedfordshire, and called 999. Bedfordshire Police attended the scene and treated the death as a suicide. There were blood stains and blood spattering in one of the bedrooms and the legal occupier was not present at the time. On 17 October the legal occupier was found dead near the flat.

Bedfordshire Police referred this matter to us, raising concerns about the conduct of police officers and staff when investigating the incident

Our investigation looked at the standard of investigation and scene management by attending police officers and staff, compliance and understanding of policies and procedures, whether the legal occupier should have been classified as a missing person and whether senior managers had the appropriate level of oversight.

During the investigation we reviewed national and local policies and legislation, crime scene photographs, body-worn video footage, witness statements and other relevant documents and records. We interviewed two police officers and two police staff and obtained a written response from another officer.

Based on the evidence available, the investigation found no indication that any person serving with the police may have behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings or committed a criminal offence.