Man dies following contact with police - Lincolnshire Police, December 2016

We investigated the circumstances in which a man took his own life in December 2016 following contact with Lincolnshire Police. The man had been asked to attend a voluntary interview in connection with potentially serious criminal allegations.

The investigation found that, although Lincolnshire Police was told about the possible allegations against the man in January 2016, they did not take action between February and November 2016. Evidence also showed that the unit dealing with the allegations was under increased pressure due to lack of available resources at that time. Our investigation therefore considered that the criteria used by Lincolnshire Police for prioritisation were reasonable in the circumstances.

Evidence also indicated that Lincolnshire Police was aware that the man was in possession of a number of firearms.

Based on the evidence available we were of the opinion that one officer may have a case to answer for misconduct for not informing the firearms licensing unit once the man had been told that he may face criminal charges, and for not effectively supervising the criminal investigation before then. We were also of the opinion that another officer may have a case to answer for misconduct for not carrying out a risk assessment or contacting the firearms licensing unit before approaching the man.

After reviewing our report, Lincolnshire Police suggested that the two police officers should receive management action, and also be the subject of an individual support plan to focus their continued development. After considering their additional rationale, we agreed that their proposals were appropriate and that no case to answer should be recorded for either officer.

The force also confirmed that it had put in place a number of measures as a result of learning identified from the incident in order to reduce the risk of suicide in similar circumstances in the future.

We completed our investigation in November 2017, but waited until the inquest into the man’s death had taken place in 2019 before publishing its outcomes. The inquest returned a verdict of suicide.