Police decisions and actions examined after three concerns for welfare calls – West Yorkshire Police, July 2024

In the early evening, West Yorkshire Police (WYP) received three calls reporting concerns for a woman’s welfare. The woman had threatened suicide on a video live streaming service. One of the calls was from the woman’s GP who reported she had a significant history of mental health issues, had previously tried to end her life, and planned to take her life that evening.

WYP decided that the ambulance service was the most appropriate agency to handle the incident, and they referred the welfare concerns to the Yorkshire Ambulance Service. No police officers were sent to the woman’s home.

The woman’s GP managed to enter her home later that evening, where he found her hanging. She was later pronounced dead by a member of ambulance staff.

We received a death or serious injury referral from WYP and decided to independently investigate the decisions, actions and risk assessments of the police after concerns for the woman’s welfare were reported on three occasions, and whether the police acted in line with local and national policies, procedures, guidance and training.

We also examined how the police used the Right Care Right Person toolkit. This is used to help call takers decide whether an incident is a medical matter, or whether police attendance is required.

We considered whether one officer failed to recognise the immediate, real and substantial risk to the woman’s life, deciding not to send police officers to her home when it was necessary and appropriate. The officer gave written responses about their conduct.

Our investigators also obtained witness statements, examined recordings of police calls and spoke with police staff members.

We concluded there was no indication that a person serving with the police committed a criminal offence or behaved in a manner to justify disciplinary proceedings.

We found that the officer who decided not to send the police to the woman’s home did so in good faith, believing that she would receive appropriate medical treatment in a timely manner. The officer had to make quick time decisions based on their diligent assessment of the information available to them.

We carefully considered whether there were any learning opportunities arising from the investigation. We make learning recommendations to improve policing and public confidence in the police complaints system and prevent a recurrence of similar incidents.

We made five learning recommendations in this case which can be read here: Recommendations - West Yorkshire Police, May 2025 | Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)