Police response to notify family of woman’s death – South Yorkshire Police, June 2020

On 6 June 2020, a woman was found dead in her ex-partner’s home in South Yorkshire. There was a delay of approximately 11 hours before South Yorkshire Police (SYP) notified the woman’s next of kin of her death. The woman’s parents subsequently made a complaint about the delay and the way they were notified of her death. We obtained accounts from the SYP officers and police staff involved in the incident. We also obtained the relevant local and national policies and procedures. Our investigation considered the efforts made to identify the woman’s next of kin together with how the death notification was delivered to them. Our investigation concluded there was no indication that any police officers or police staff may have behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings or committed a criminal offence. All were treated as witnesses. We concluded our investigation in November 2021 …