IPCC publishes findings from investigation following complaints by Stacy Banner

13 Jul 2017 03:08 PM

An Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation into Surrey Police’s contact with Stacy Banner following the murders of her mother and sister, has resulted in misconduct proceedings for three officers.

Mrs Banner had complained about her contact with family liaison officers from Surrey Police following the murders of Christine and Lucy Lee, and her subsequent arrest for unrelated criminal offences.

Following a consideration of the evidence concerning Mrs Banner’s arrest in March 2014 the investigator found that a detective constable and a detective sergeant had cases to answer for misconduct, and a detective inspector had a case to answer for gross misconduct in relation to her arrest.

At a misconduct meeting last week, the case against the detective constable, concerning allegations that he did not take actions that could have prevented the need to arrest Mrs Banner, was not proven.

A separate meeting heard allegations the detective sergeant did not have sufficient evidence to suspect Mrs Banner of the offence for which she was arrested and failed to ensure relevant witness statements were taken before deciding she should be arrested. The allegation of having insufficient evidence was not found to be proven, while the second regarding witness statements, and a further one that as a consequence of failing to ensure witness statements were taken Mrs. Banner was arrested and held in custody when it was unnecessary, were proven. The officer received management action.

This week, a gross misconduct hearing for Detective Inspector Paul Burrill heard evidence related to his authorisation of the continued detention of Mrs Banner and her arrest for a further allegation, when evidence gathered by the IPCC investigation indicated these decisions were, respectively, not necessary and indicatively a breach of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act. The evidence was heard by the panel who after considering it found the allegations were not proven.

Associate Commissioner Tom Milsom said:

“The allegations against Stacy came at an extremely difficult time in her life, following the tragic deaths of her mother and sister. A panel found a charge of misconduct proven against a detective sergeant who authorised her initial arrest without ensuring relevant lines of enquiry were not completed before doing so. The allegations regarding the other officers were not proven.”

In respect of the contact with Mrs Banner after the murders, her complaint was that there was a delay in informing her of her loved ones being formally identified and that her visit to see their bodies was inadequate and unprofessional.

The IPCC investigator interviewed the senior investigating officer who made decisions about family liaison strategy and the family liaison specialists assigned to Mrs Banner. The log books and communications between all the parties were carefully examined.

None of the individuals were served misconduct notices during the investigation and following an assessment of all the evidence the investigator found that none of the complaints were upheld.

Associate Commissioner Tom Milsom said:

“The role of a family liaison officer is a particularly challenging one for officers given the inevitably tragic circumstances in which they are trying to build a relationship with families and loved ones of the deceased. The communications between Stacy and the family liaison specialists indicate that their relationship functioned relatively smoothly and that Stacy’s concerns were not raised at the time and nor had Surrey Police picked up any intimations she was unhappy with them.”