Police actions in response to 999 calls - Leicestershire Police, February 2017

In February 2017 Leicestershire Police received a 999 emergency call reporting that a man was trying to gain access to a house. The call was graded as requiring a response within two hours.

Less than 50 minutes later Leicestershire Police received a second call informing them that the man had gained access to the house and had attacked two of the occupants. This was graded as a priority 1 incident, requiring a response within 15 minutes. As the two Leicestershire Police armed response vehicles (ARVs) were committed to other incidents, a Nottinghamshire Police ARV was deployed; it arrived 23 minutes after the call was received. A man was arrested in connection with the incident.

We reviewed relevant local and national policies, and Leicestershire Police incident logs relating to this incident. We took statements from the police staff and officers who were involved in responding to this incident.

Based on the evidence available we were of the opinion that the calls had been handled in accordance with local policy and that, although the response to the second call fell outside Leicestershire Police policy, there were extenuating circumstances that caused a delay in the arrival of armed officers to deal with the incident.

We 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 had caused or contributed to the serious injuries received by two of the occupants of the house.

After reviewing our report, the force agreed with our findings.