Derbyshire Constabulary
Police / Law Enforcement
Action Taken
Derbyshire Constabulary has designed and implemented a lesson plan covering concealment of items in a subject’s mouth and mandated that safety training includes a scenario covering this topic. They have also contacted the College of Policing to inform them of the concerns raised. (AI summary)
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Dear Ms. Evans Regulation 28: Report to Prevent Future Deaths I write in relation to the above inquest which concluded on 24th October 2024, after which you issued a Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) report under Regulation 28 of the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013. I appreciate the opportunity to address the concerns raised and outline steps Derbyshire Constabulary are taking to mitigate the risks identified during the inquest. The concerns raised are that there is no standard provision of guidance or training for police officers in units tasked to make arrests for drugs offences, to equip them to make informed decisions when faced with this situation. You note that in the Personal Safety Manual (PSM) (Module 12, pg 42), that concealment of drugs in the mouth is described as a common tactic, used by some subjects during arrest. The College of Policing stipulate the curriculum required to be covered for Personal and Public Safety Training (PPST) which equips officers with the skills required to protect themselves and the public. It is for each force to determine how that is taught to ensure officers can apply the tactics in differing situations they deal with. Due to the nature of Policing, it is impossible to cover all potential situations, however numerous scenario based practical examples are used to teach the tactics required. All officers are required to undertake the training. Due to different situations being trained, dependant on questions asked by students and the direction the scenario goes in, some officers will have had training in relation to concealment of drugs in a subject’s mouth, others may not. We recognise this is not the ideal situation to provide standardisation of training. The training delivered by Derbyshire Constabulary already covers numerous situations which may arise when a subject tries to conceal something in their mouth, namely positional asphyxia, ground control and pressure points and we will continue to do this training. Since the incident leading to the death of Chad Allford, Derbyshire Constabulary have taken the following action:
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1. A lesson plan has been designed and implemented to cover the necessary points pertaining to concealment of an item in a subject’s mouth for training within Derbyshire Constabulary.
2. It has been mandated that during both initial and refresher safety training, at least one scenario covering the concealment of an item in the mouth must be delivered.
3. Sergeant who leads the training has made contact with the PPST lead from the College of Policing and informed her of the concerns raised. The College of Policing have confirmed that the PSM is due to be reviewed in order to make it more concise. The swallowing of drugs is included within that under mouth searches so the content will be included as part of the review. As an organisation, Derbyshire Constabulary are committed to ensuring the training delivered to our staff is of excellent quality to ensure the safety of officers and the public and despite the tragic circumstances leading to the concerns raised, we appreciate the opportunity to improve on the service already delivered to ensure events like this are prevented in the future.
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1. A lesson plan has been designed and implemented to cover the necessary points pertaining to concealment of an item in a subject’s mouth for training within Derbyshire Constabulary.
2. It has been mandated that during both initial and refresher safety training, at least one scenario covering the concealment of an item in the mouth must be delivered.
3. Sergeant who leads the training has made contact with the PPST lead from the College of Policing and informed her of the concerns raised. The College of Policing have confirmed that the PSM is due to be reviewed in order to make it more concise. The swallowing of drugs is included within that under mouth searches so the content will be included as part of the review. As an organisation, Derbyshire Constabulary are committed to ensuring the training delivered to our staff is of excellent quality to ensure the safety of officers and the public and despite the tragic circumstances leading to the concerns raised, we appreciate the opportunity to improve on the service already delivered to ensure events like this are prevented in the future.