Independent Police Complaints Commission
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Recommendations made to Avon and Somerset Constabulary following death of Robert Cox
New ways for call handlers to assess background information and intelligence have been put in place by Avon and Somerset Constabulary following an Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigation into police contact with Robert Cox prior to his death.
Mr Cox, 24, was stabbed at the Egerton Road Project in Bristol on 9 August 2013 by Derek Hancock, a fellow resident at the home for mentally ill, homeless and vulnerable people.
Derek Hancock, 42, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and was sentenced to a minimum of four years and nine months at Southampton Crown Court in December 2014.
The independent investigation, which ended in January 2015, examined the decisions and actions of three police call handling staff and the two police officers sent to the home on the day of the incident.
The IPCC investigator’s opinion was that the evidence showed the first two call handlers and the two police officers to have acted in accordance with their duties and Standards of Professional Behaviour.
In the investigator’s opinion, a third call handler had a case to answer for misconduct. Following a misconduct hearing in March 2015, the force dismissed the call handler with 28 days’ notice.
The IPCC recommended to Avon and Somerset Constabulary that:
*A marker be created to alert call takers if vulnerable residents live at an address.
*An urgent review be conducted into the training and support available to officers and staff who deal with vulnerable or mentally ill people, after it was found that support and training was inadequate.
*Consideration be given to introducing a process to link incidents, after it found that several calls made by Mr Hancock in the months leading up to the incident had not been linked.
*A solution be found to determine whether a caller or call taker ends a call, after it was found it’s not possible to determine whether the third call handler or Mr Hancock ended his final call to 101.
Work has been carried to implement a number of IPCC recommendations including the creation of a ‘Live Intelligence Cell’ which helps call handlers and dispatchers make assessments of background information and intelligence.
Markers have also been created on certain property types alerting staff that the occupants may be vulnerable and a training programme covering vulnerability has been delivered across the force.
IPCC Associate Commissioner Guido Liguori said: “These are tragic circumstances and I offer my sincere condolences to the family and friends of Robert Cox.
“The training and support provided to staff to engage and support people with mental health issues was inadequate, and it is concerning that the calls made by Mr Hancock from Egerton Road in the months leading up to the incident were neither linked nor marked as being made from a home with vulnerable residents.
“Avon and Somerset Police has provided assurance that it has taken action following our recommendations.”
An inquest held at Avon Coroner’s Court earlier this month found Mr Cox was unlawfully killed. Publication of our findings has awaited the end of the inquest.
The IPCC has now published its investigation report which can be found here.
