Investigation into woman’s call asking for help with husband’s suspected mental ill health – West Yorkshire Police, March 2021

A woman called the police to report that her husband was hearing voices, and she needed help. She said he had almost burnt their house down with cigarettes the previous week.

The call taker spoke to the husband who said he could only hear his wife’s voice, and he needed to rest. The call taker advised him to go to bed and recorded on the incident log that an ambulance would be contacted. The incident log was closed but no contact was made with the ambulance service.

The police had attended domestic related incidents at the couple’s home over the past two years. None of the incidents had led to either of them being formally charged, and the reports were linked to mental ill health and, occasionally, the effects of alcohol.

The husband contacted the police the following morning to report he had found his wife dead. Police officers went to the house and found the woman’s body with injuries to her neck. The police arrested the husband for his wife’s death.

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 woman’s death, and whether the police may have caused or contributed to her death.

We also examined previous police contact with the couple and whether policy and procedure were followed regarding reports of domestic related incidents, and the actions and decisions taken to close the incident log without contacting the ambulance service.

Our investigators obtained evidence from police officers and staff involved in the call handling and reviewed the reports made to the police. Our investigators compared the decisions and actions of police officers and staff against relevant local and national policy.

We found that the police’s interactions with the couple were appropriate and in line with policy and procedure. There was nothing in the call which should have raised a higher level of concern, and therefore the police could not have foreseen the tragic outcome. 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 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.