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The Independent Police Complaints Commission has published an update on its investigation into Thames Valley Police’s (TVP) response to Jayden Parkinson being reported missing.

Mr Blakeley, 22, was convicted of Jayden’s murder on 24 July 2014 at Oxford Crown Court, and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 20 years. 

The IPCC’s ongoing investigation is focussed on the force’s actions between 4 and 12 December 2013 when Mr Blakeley was arrested for murder.

Jayden, 17, was reported missing just after midnight on 4 December and IPCC investigators have confirmed that she was considered to be a medium risk missing person for the first week of her disappearance.

The IPCC is examining what information was available to the officers who arrested and interviewed Mr Blakeley later on 4 December in connection with an outstanding allegation that he had taken indecent images of Jayden, and whether they were aware that Jayden had been reported missing at that stage. Mr Blakeley was subsequently released on bail.

The IPCC has also established that on 10 December 2013, Jayden was re-categorised as a high risk missing person. Mr Blakeley was arrested by TVP officers on suspicion of kidnapping Jayden the following day and later released on bail. The missing person investigation was subsequently transferred to the force’s Major Crime Team on 12 December, and Mr Blakeley was arrested on suspicion of murder.

The IPCC is examining what actions were taken in response to Jayden being reported missing between 4 and 12 December, what information was obtained about Jayden or Mr Blakeley and whether the risk assessments were appropriate. 

Five officers have been served with misconduct notices advising them that their conduct is subject to investigation, and interviews with those officers are underway.

IPCC investigators have also taken a number of statements from both civilian and police witnesses, as part of their enquiries. The force has provided a considerable amount of documentation to the IPCC regarding its contact with Jayden and Mr Blakeley in 2013, and their policies and procedures around missing person reports.

In April 2014, the IPCC investigation was widened to incorporate complaints from Jayden’s mother about her daughter’s contact with TVP in 2013 and whether the responses were appropriate. The investigation is also examining the force’s response to specific concerns about Mr Blakeley and alleged threats made against Jayden, members of her family or other individuals in 2013.

IPCC Associate Commissioner Guido Liguori said:

"Jayden’s family continue to go through an incredibly difficult time, and I again offer my condolences to them. 

"Now that the murder trial has concluded, we can provide a clearer picture of our investigation and the progress that has been made in recent months in parallel with Thames Valley Police’s criminal investigation.

"As well as examining the individual actions of officers and staff in response to Jayden being reporting missing and whether these were appropriate, our investigation has also been looking at the force’s policies and systems around missing person reports.

"There is still work to do and it is vital that we establish as full a picture as we can as to how the force responded to Jayden being reported missing, and the contact officers and staff had with her and Ben Blakeley in the months before her murder.”