Complaint regarding contact with a woman - Metropolitan Police Service, January 2017

In December 2016 Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers were called to attend an address in Beckenham, south London, on three occasions regarding concerns for the welfare of a woman.

During the final visit, the woman left the property in which she had been living, after being evicted by the home owner. Members of the public called an ambulance shortly afterwards due to concerns for her well-being and she was admitted to hospital. Her condition deteriorated in hospital and she died in February 2017.

In January 2017 the woman’s mother complained to the MPS about the care her daughter had received during the three incidents in December. The MPS referred the matter to us. We initially informed the force that they could conduct an investigation internally. However, following the woman’s death, we decided in February 2017 to conduct an independent investigation, and informed officers that they were under investigation.

There was no body-worn video footage or CCTV footage available for any of the incidents. We interviewed and obtained statements from eight officers who attended over the three call outs. We also took a statement from a call handler after it became apparent there was a potential breach of standards of professional behaviour in relation to the final call out.

We took statements from a number of members of the public who had been present on one or more of the occasions the police had been called to where the woman was living. We also took statements from the ambulance staff and NHS staff who treated her in hospital and examined a report from the pathologist. Images showing the condition of the property where the woman was living were also provided.

In relation to the eight officers who attended the property, we concluded that the living conditions they were confronted with should have raised sufficient concern that the woman needed medical attention. However, we were of the opinion that the officers were limited in their options, as the woman did not appear to lack mental capacity and the evidence we gathered suggested the woman repeatedly declined the offer of an ambulance being called. We were of the opinion that the officers could benefit from some additional training on how to deal with a similar situation.

In relation to the call handler, we were of the opinion that the officer failed to record all relevant information correctly and that this could be dealt with through management action.

None of the police staff involved was considered to have breached standards of professional behaviour. We completed our investigation in October 2018.

After reviewing our report the MPS were of the opinion that all concerned would benefit from individual learning and reflection about how they interacted with the woman with a view to improving interactions if faced with similar circumstances in the future.

We agreed that their proposal was appropriate in the circumstances.