Missing person found dead after welfare concerns reported – Staffordshire Police, March 2020
On 31 March 2020, a member of a community café contacted Staffordshire Police with a concern for the safety of a man. They provided Staffordshire Police with the name and address for one man and a mobile number that belonged to another. An officer attended the address provided and confirmed that the man was safe and well. However, this man did not know the person who reported the concern and stated he did not attend the café. The telephone number was not called, and the incident was closed.
On 3 April 2020, a man was reported to Staffordshire Police as missing by a Health and Social care worker. A member of the care team had arrived for the man’s weekly medical appointment, but he was not home, which was described as highly unusual and out of character. They said they had last seen the man on 27 March.
Staffordshire Police registered the man as a medium risk missing person. Later that evening, the incident was re-graded as a high risk missing person enquiry. Staffordshire Police undertook an investigation to find the man, but on 11 April 2020, the man was found dead by a member of the public.
On 15 April 2020, Staffordshire Police referred this incident to us as a Death or Serious injury for investigation.
During our investigation, we examined several pieces of evidence including the incident logs and 101 calls, and the police search material including COMPACT records and specialist resource searches. We also reviewed the officers’ body worn video, witness statements and conclusions from the inquest. We compared this to relevant police policy and procedures.
We completed our investigation in January 2021 and concluded 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 did advise that the force utilise search documentation instead of relying solely on the COMPACT log being updated. We also suggested a reminder to all National Police Air Service (NPAS) operators of the NPAS policy outlining the requirements and timeframes of retaining footage. We did not deem it necessary to issue any organisational learning from this investigation.