Recommendations - Northumbria Police, July 2024
Recommendation date: 24 July 2024
Response due: 18 September 2024
Published: 8 August 2024
Mental health
Welfare and vulnerable people
We identified organisational learning from a 'death and serious injury' (DSI) investigation and review. Officers went to an address following reports that a person had been acting erratically. The person was exhibiting behaviour which seemed to relate to their mental health and officers noticed that the person had self-harmed whilst they were present, sustaining superficial wounds. Officers provided basic first aid, but were advised by the force’s Street Triage Team to leave the person at the scene and ask them to contact the local CRISIS team for further support. Later, the person was found dead at their home address.
Recommendations (3)
Recommendation 1
Accepted
Recommendation
The IOPC recommends that Northumbria Police provides guidance to front line officers and the Street Triage Team (STT) in respect of their responsibilities and actions to be taken when encountering a member of the public who has self-harmed in their … Read more
Force Response
Accepted: We accept the recommendation going forward and as such will review our current operational process for front line officers and Street Triage officers and nursing staff. Northumbria police already provide training to front line officers in relation to dealing … Read more
Recommendation 2
Accepted
Recommendation
The IOPC recommends that Northumbria Police provides guidance to the Street Triage Team (STT) around the importance of considering the particular circumstances faced by frontline officers when attending an incident, when making a decision about how best to resolve a … Read more
Force Response
Accepted: After discussion with CNTW, we jointly accept this recommendation around the importance of considering the circumstances faced by frontline officers when attending an incident and deciding about how best to resolve a mental health related matter. The immediate circumstances … Read more
Recommendation 3
Accepted
Recommendation
The IOPC recommends that Northumbria Police should work with Cumbria, Northumbria Tyne and Wear NHS (CNTW) to review and revise the referral points discussed in the Street Triage Team (STT) Operational Policy document around when a member of the public … Read more
Force Response
Accepted: We accept the recommendation and the STT operational policy will be revisited to more clearly define the decisions made by Northumbria Police and the decisions made by CNTW. Referral or signposting to CNTW crisis team or any other service … Read more