Recommendation - Cheshire Constabulary, May 2020
In August 2019, a pub landlord called Cheshire Constabulary to report threats made to him earlier that day by a man who had been asked to leave the pub the week before. Police officers attended the pub that night and spoke to the landlord. A task was raised to speak to the man to tell him he was banned from the pub. The threats were assessed to be low risk and the task was not given a high priority. A task to speak to the man in relation to the original incident had not been completed. The man returned to the pub several days later and stabbed the landlord, who died from his injuries.
IOPC reference
Recommendations
The IOPC recommends that Cheshire Constabulary issue a reminder or guidance to their call handling staff in relation to checking all systems prior to making a THRIVE (Threat, Harm, Risk, Investigation, Vulnerability and Engagement) assessment. Cheshire Constabulary should make it clear which systems are expected to be checked, and that this includes the Evergreen report.
During the IOPC investigation, it became apparent that Cheshire Constabulary hold some of their information on an Evergreen report. This report is desinged to provide an easy to read overview of vulnerabilities of a person in order to assist an officer dealing with an incident. It is accessible via the Police National Computer (PNC). In this instance, there was information available on the Evergreen report in relation to the man, but this was not looked at prior to the THRIVE assessment taking place. None of the call handlers spoken to, or any officers, made reference to this report, or having checked it. However, a chief inspector of the control room informed the IOPC that there was an expectation that staff review all information, including the Evergreen report, prior to making a THRIVE assessment. In this instance, checking the Evergreen report would probably not have made a difference to the THRIVE assessment, but neverthless it is important that it be checked to consider whether it does contain crucial information that could alter a THRIVE assessment.
Do you accept the recommendation?
Yes
Accepted action:
Re: IOPC investigation into the response of Cheshire Constabulary to reports of threats being made towards a man's premises on 3 August 2019.
Thank you for your letter (dated 11 May 2020) confirming the outcome of the independent investigation following the death of the man. I can confirm the following actions are being undertaken to ensure the learning which has been identified in this investigation is disseminated both at an individual level and across the organisation: Individual learning:
Sergeant A – Management conversation allowing the officer to reflect and learn from the learning identified in respect of the allocation of Niche tasks.
Sergeant B - Management conversation allowing the officer to reflect and learn from the learning identified in respect of the allocation of Niche tasks.
Call handler C in Force Control Centre - Management conversation allowing the staff member to reflect and learn from the learning identified in respect of; a) recording relevant information within incident logs and b) using available force information systems to gather information.
Organisational learning:
Crime management and the allocation of tasks within our case management system (Niche) has been fed into a work-stream which is already reviewing this area of business within an ongoing Cheshire Police ‘change’ project.
The wider learning with regard the use of force information systems will be shared with staff members within the Force Control Centre. This will be included within the weekly update to staff within the department. This is the usual method for learning to be shared.
It is also my intention to share the learning across the organisation using an Professional Standards Department, Cheshire Constabulary Headquarters, Winsford, Cheshire, CW7 2UA Email: [email protected], Tel: (01606) 362055. entry within Cheshire Police ‘weekly orders’, which is published to all staff on a weekly basis. Thank you for the way in which this investigation has been progressed and for the timely outcome. I will now conclude matters internally.
Yours sincerely,
Detective Superintendent Professional Standards Department