Contact with man before his death – North Wales Police, November 2021

· Ref: 2021/161330

Recommendation date: 17 August 2023

Response due: 12 October 2023

Published: 20 December 2023

In October 2021, a man was reported to be climbing on the roofs of houses and to be potentially under the influence of drugs. Police attended immediately, but the man had fled the scene before they arrived. A search was carried out for the man, without success, and it was assumed that the man had taken shelter with associates, as he had a long history of evading the police. The incident log was closed the next day. The day after, the man’s sister reported him missing, as neither his family nor his friends had been able to contact him since the incident. Area searches were carried out over the next few days until a local farmer discovered the man’s body in a fast-flowing river near his property. We obtained and reviewed CCTV footage, incident logs and statements from officers. We also reviewed statements from the family members and interviewed three …

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Recommendations (3)

Recommendation 1 Accepted

Recommendation

The IOPC recommends that North Wales Police should incorporate the dangers of confirmation bias, encourage critical questioning, challenging assumptions, and the importance of exercising professional curiosity in matters of concern for welfare and Missing Person investigations. The force should ensure … Read moreThe IOPC recommends that North Wales Police should incorporate the dangers of confirmation bias, encourage critical questioning, challenging assumptions, and the importance of exercising professional curiosity in matters of concern for welfare and Missing Person investigations. The force should ensure that the issue is covered in training and consider an appropriate methodology of how officer bias and assumptions can be challenged. This follows an IOPC investigation where neighbours reported a male in distress up on the roof of their terraced houses 'off his head on drugs' and asking for police to be called. He was unsuitably dressed for inclement weather and wearing one shoe. The male made off prior to police arrival and his whereabouts thereafter could not be established. There was evidence that officers assumed from the outset that the male was evading the police and had gone to ground having made off because he believed he would be arrested for criminal damage to the roofs and TV aerials. The male was well known to police and several officers had experience of his evading arrest in the past when wanted. He was later reported missing and was found dead in a local river some days later. Arguably, if officers had taken a more questioning approach, they could have considered that it was equally possible in the circumstances that no one had seen him in the intervening period because he had come to harm. ‘Confirmation bias is ‘the tendency to seek, attend to and interpret information in a way that is consistent with our preconceptions, including expectations and pre-existing theories’ (College of Policing,'Conducting effective investigations' PDF, July 2022). College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice (APP) states that 'Officers and staff should exercise professional curiosity to actively identify and investigate vulnerability-related risks, so they can deliver the appropriate policing response. Professional curiosity includes: exploring and understanding what is happening by asking questions and maintaining an open mind' (College of Policing 'Curiosity' web page). Show less

Force Response

Recommendation accepted This recommendation is accepted and action is being taken. In understanding the conclusions of this investigation, the issues that can be caused by confirmation bias are recognised, and how there is always a need for professional curiosity. The … Read more

Recommendation 2 Accepted

Recommendation

The IOPC recommends that North Wales Police take steps to understand supervisors’ experiences of carrying out risk grading for missing persons cases, to determine whether further training may be required to ensure that the investigative actions carried out are consistent … Read more

Force Response

Recommendation accepted This recommendation is accepted, and action is being taken. There is a HYDRA package under development for Supervisors in which the risk grading for missing person cases will be covered, to improve knowledge and critical thinking in this … Read more

Recommendation 3 Accepted

Recommendation

The IOPC recommends that North Wales Police allocates a dedicated Single Point of Contact (SPOC) to families/next of kin during Missing Person Investigations where possible. The SPOC should ensure the family know who their SPOC is, provide regular, meaningful updates … Read more

Force Response

Recommendation accepted This recommendation is accepted. Action will be undertaken. The issues raised in these recommendations have oversight and will be progressed through the MFH (Missing from Home) Working Group. It is expected that this recommendation will be progressed through … Read more