IPCC investigation finds ‘alarming failings’ in Pilkington case

Leicestershire Constabulary’s error in not identifying Fiona Pilkington and her children as a vulnerable family lay at the core of their failure to provide a cohesive and effective approach to the anti-social behaviour (ASB) the family suffered, an Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigation has concluded.

Fiona Pilkington and her 18-year-old daughter, Francecca Hardwick, who was disabled, died in October 2007 when Ms Pilkington set fire to their car after suffering from years of ASB despite reporting it to the police who recorded at least 33 incidents between November 1997 and October 2007.

The IPCC investigation found that there were a number of “alarming” failures within the force to identify the incidents as hate crime rather than ASB.

Some of the key findings identified by the investigation include:

•police officers had systems in place which, had they been used properly, could have shown the true level of harassment the family were subjected to over a number of years;

•incidents were too often dealt with by police officers in isolation and with an unstructured approach;

•Bardon Road, where the family lived, was not considered by the force to be an ASB ‘hotspot’ and was therefore not targeted for a more proactive response;

•police officers should have picked up on Fiona’s repeated assertion the situation was ‘ongoing’ and that it was her family in particular being targeted;

•officers did not identify a difference in the level of seriousness between general ASB and specific harassment of the Pilkington family, and they failed to consider their treatment as hate crime;

•aside from the family’s vulnerability, Fiona was a member of a local community who was reporting incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour and simply asking police to carry out their responsibilities, which they failed to do.

The IPCC has already made a number of recommendations to the force around information sharing between officers and the handling of vulnerable people which it has accepted. The IPCC added that it is clear the force has learnt a number of lessons since the deaths and has made some significant changes to how it monitors ASB and deals with vulnerable people with improved management structures.

Amerdeep Somal, IPCC commissioner, said: “I was alarmed to learn that Fiona and her family had cause to contact Leicestershire Constabulary on so many occasions over a ten-year period.

“Fiona, her mother, her neighbours and MP had all contacted the police to inform them that she had repeated and justifiable concerns about her family’s predicament. Yet, no one person gripped these reports and took charge to strategically manage and oversee what should have been a targeted police response.

“There was nothing in place to ensure the Pilkington family was considered by police as vulnerable or repeat victims, contrary to the force’s own strategy. Systems were in place for officers to have linked the catalogue of incidents, but these were not well utilised. Police missed several opportunities to take robust action, inadequately investigated criminal allegations on some occasions and failed to record information on their own intelligence system.”

The IPCC said that on one occasion in particular, which took place in July 2004, the force should have set in motion far more robust action in dealing with the offenders.

The family informed police on the evening of July 3 that Fiona Pilkington’s 13-year-old son, who had learning difficulties, had been locked in a shed by youths and had had to break his way out.

There was a four day delay before a beat officer visited Fiona and took a five-page statement from her detailing the problems she and her family were suffering. She named several of the offenders in relation to specific incidents.

The investigation also found:

•warning letters and ‘acceptable behaviour contracts’ were being issued by the local authority an