Response to concern for welfare reports - Lincolnshire Police, February 2017

On 14 February 2017 at 6.05pm a man contacted Lincolnshire Police as he was concerned for the welfare of his brother. He couldn’t gain entry to his brother’s house, as the key was in the lock from the inside of the house.

At 6.50pm Lincolnshire Police officers saw the man at the window of his house. They left, advising that the occupant was safe and well.

At 7.27pm the man called Lincolnshire Police again. He advised that his brother’s ex-partner had advised him that he (his brother) had cut his wrists. Lincolnshire Police informed him that they did not have any officers free to attend. They advised him to call the ambulance service, as they had authority to force entry if they considered it a matter of life or death.

At 9.01pm, Lincolnshire Police called the man. He advised them that he was outside of his brother’s home property and was still waiting for an ambulance to arrive. Lincolnshire Police deployed police resources. At 9.16pm the man’s brother was confirmed dead.

During the investigation, our investigators interviewed the Lincolnshire Police controller and assistant. They also obtained statements from the police officers involved at the scene, the responding paramedics and the man who called with concerns for his brother’s welfare. Investigators also examined the mobile phone of the man’s brother. They conducted enquiries at Lincolnshire Police Command and Control room via a supervisor to obtain and establish the relevant policies and local practice.

Evidence indicated that the initial ‘safe and well’ check was conducted in line with the relevant policy. The man was content that his brother was fine. The call handler who responded to the man’s second call did not downgrade the incident and agreed that it was an urgent emergency incident. In our view, the rationale provided by the call handler was rational, reasonable and justified. Evidence corroborated that all available resources were allocated to other incidents and no other units were available at the time.

At the end of the investigation, based on the evidence available, the Lead Investigator concluded that there was no indication of any potential misconduct by any of the Lincolnshire Police staff or police officers involved in the incident.

We completed our investigation in October 2017, but waited until the inquest into the man’s death had taken place in late 2018 before publishing its outcome.