Recommendations for call handlers following death of Steven Mosley
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has made recommendations for call handlers at Staffordshire Police following an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Steven Mosley.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has made recommendations for call handlers at Staffordshire Police following an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of Steven Mosley.
Mrs Mosley found her husbands body several hours after she put in a call to Staffordshire Police with concerns she had for his welfare. Between the time of the call and Mrs Mosley discovering the body, an officer from Staffordshire Police had attended the scene, but left when he received no response.
An inquest into Mr Mosleys death concluded that he had killed himself.
The IPCC investigation revealed a number of procedural errors in the way Staffordshire Police handled the concerns raised about Mr Mosley.
These included:
The way in which the initial call at 3.25am was dealt with by the call handler and how vital information was processed and prioritised.
The failure of the attending officer to ensure the safety of Mr Mosley when he visited the premises at 5.37am.
Failure of two supervising officers to recognise the urgency of the situation and prioritise resources accordingly.
A series of recommendations were made by the IPCC to Staffordshire Police to improve training for call handlers, reinforce existing policies and procedures and improve the recording of information around call handling.
Len Jackson, IPCC commissioner, said: The concerns felt by Mrs Mosley for her husband on the morning of June 30, 2007, were significant enough to prompt a phone call to the police. Our investigation established that Staffordshire Police did not properly prioritise the initial call or undertake adequate checks when attending the premises to check on Mr Mosley.
I am pleased to say that Staffordshire Police has accepted the findings of our investigation and is working to implement our recommendations to reduce the risk of such an incident occurring again.
Written warnings have been issued to one police sergeant and one police staff member as a result of the IPCC findings. Two other police sergeants received formal words of advice.