Police response for welfare concerns - Sussex Police, November 2021
Recommendation date: 25 January 2023
Response due: 22 March 2023
Published: 25 September 2023
Death and serious injury
Welfare and vulnerable people
In November 2021, a woman contacted Sussex Police and told them she wanted to report the behaviour of a neighbour and her concerns about a friend. During the call, she told Sussex Police that she had tried to take her own life earlier that evening. She did not provide the police details or those of her friend or her neighbour, but told the officer that she did not want police or an ambulance. After the call ended the officer traced the woman's details from her telephone number and requested ambulance attendance. When the ambulance arrived at her home, she was found dead. Our investigation focused on whether police response was appropriate and in line with local and national policy and guidance. The investigation also considered whether Sussex Police appropriately took into account relevant information they held about the woman's background. We reviewed call recordings and obtained evidence from Sussex Police. …
Recommendations (2)
Recommendation 1
Accepted
Recommendation
The IOPC recommends that Sussex Police provides specific guidance or training to contact officers on how to elicit information during a 999 or 101 call from people who have attempted suicide. This follows an IOPC investigation where it was identified … Read more
Force Response
Accepted: The recommendation is accepted in full. However, it is worth noting that having risk based conversations using THRIVE to understand and develop information for suicidal callers is trained to new contact officers. The attached powerpoint is taken from a … Read more
Recommendation 2
Accepted
Recommendation
The IOPC recommends that Sussex Police provides specific guidance to contact officers on when they are required to communicate recorded warning markers held by Sussex police when they are requesting South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAMB) attendance. This follows an … Read more
Force Response
Recommendation accepted: This recommendation is accepted in full. Sussex Police will need to understand what levels of information can be shared and for what purposes with guidance created, shared and communicated to contact handlers and controllers. This will include updating … Read more