Investigation into police pursuit after death of young motorcyclist – Dorset Police, April 2023

Two police officers on patrol observed a motorbike and rider matching the description of a suspect they had been asked to look for. The officers noted that the motorbike was going over the speed limit, and the rider was using a mobile phone causing the motorbike to sway across road lanes.

The motorbike slowed for a speed camera and merged lanes before stopping at a red traffic light. One of the officers got out of the police car and asked the rider to wait there. Following this, the rider drove through the red light and away from the officers.

The officers followed the motorbike in the police car, losing sight of it as it went around a bend. Moments later, a member of the public waved down the officers to report that the motorbike had collided with a metal fence. An ambulance was called and paramedics attempted life support, but the rider sadly died at the scene. They were 17 years old.

We received a death or serious injury referral from the force and decided to independently investigate the nature and extent of police contact before the rider’s death, and whether the police may have caused or contributed to this.

We examined the decision to stop and follow the rider, whether the action taken was within the definition of a pursuit, and whether these actions were appropriately risk assessed and conducted in line with legislation, local and national policy, training, guidance and procedure.

We took witness statements from police officers, staff and medical personnel, and analysed CCTV footage and the police officers’ body worn camera footage. We compared this with logs created by police systems and experts’ reports.

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.

The decision to stop the motorcycle was justified and reasonable, and the police were not in close proximity when the rider collided with the fence. We did recommend that one of the officers would benefit from the reflective practice review process (RPRP). This process allows officers to learn from and reflect on what could have been done better. We recommended that they reflect on the definition of a pursuit as stated in local and national policy.

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 did not identify any organisational learning in this case.