Police contact with man prior to his death - Lancashire Constabulary, June 2023
In June 2023, Lancashire Constabulary received a call regarding a welfare concern for a man who stated he was on Rivington Pike. Lancashire Constabulary contacted Greater Manchester Police (GMP) to complete an address check of the man. Lancashire Constabulary deployed officers and National Police Air Service to start a search in the area.
GMP also received a call regarding a concern for safety of a man believed to be in his home address. GMP sent four officers to the scene who forced entry to the address. Officers performed CPR after finding the man slumped. He was pronounced dead later in hospital.
We gathered evidence including body worn video footage, incident logs and witness statements from both Lancashire Constabulary and GMP.
During our investigation, we identified failings that were not sufficiently serious as to justify disciplinary action (at least a written warning) and instead, were addressed through management action.
We carefully considered whether there were any organisational 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.
Throughout this investigation it has been made apparent that there is no cross-border policy in relation to Grade 1 – Immediate or Grade 2 -Priority incidents. This type of policy could allow for more clear recommendations on communication between forces in cross border incidents, as well as a clear guidance on ownership of incidents between forces.
IOPC reference
Recommendations
The IOPC recommends that Greater Manchester Police (GMP) and Lancashire Constabulary should create a joint protocol on how to manage cross-border Grade 1 immediate and Grade 2 priority incidents.
This follows an IOPC investigation where there were concerns for a man’s welfare who was believed to be located in Lancashire’s force area at the time, but an address check was needed at their home address which was in Greater Manchester Police’s force area. There is an agreed practice between GMP and Lancashire for low level incidents however there is nothing in place regarding the management of grade 1 and 2 incidents. In this case, communication and responsibilities between GMP and Lancashire was unclear which ultimately led to delays on attending the man’s address. A clear management process for grade 1 and 2 cross -border incidents would enable better communication between forces.
Accepted:
Assistant Chief Constable of Merseyside Police in December 2023 collaborated with counterparts in GMP, Lancashire, North Wales and Cumbria with a view to reviewing his forces Outside Forces Enquiries Service Level Agreement (SLA) and to ensure consistency across the Region.
In the meantime and following tragic cases such as the one which led to the IOPC invoking this Para 28 (a), GMP and Lancashire Constabulary have designed and agreed an interim Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which both forces can work to until the main overarching policy is completed. This interim MOU will be shared with Merseyside Police.
The intention of the MOU is to clearly define the process relating to cross border assistance requests and transfer of ownership of Emergency (grade 1) and Priority incidents (grade 2) incidents, that occur on or near to a force boundary between Greater Manchester Police and Lancashire Police.
The overarching intention is for Police Forces is to protect vulnerable people and ensure that our responsibilities under Article 2 (right to life) of ECHR are adhered to.