Investigation of reported indecent exposure in 2015 – Kent Police, March 2021

The IOPC recommends that Kent Police considers developing an aide memoire or other form of guidance document for Local Police Team (LPT) officers conducting volume or low-level crime investigations. Such a document should provide a non-exhaustive list of enquiries to be considered during volume and low-level crime investigations and should be in line with the College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice (APP) guidance on managing investigations. This follows an investigation where a member of the public reported an incident of indecent exposure to Kent Police. The informant provided comprehensive details about the indecent exposure including the location, driver description, car make, model, colour, and registration. Kent Police conducted checks on the vehicle and the registered owner was confirmed. An LPT officer was allocated the case to progress, he filed the case for closure after the informant’s reliability was questioned.Over the course of the IOPC investigation it became clear that basic investigative enquiries were not properly carried out by the LPT officer in charge of the investigation. Consequently, reasonable lines of enquiry were not pursued and the details of the suspected offender were not placed on the crime report. Subsequently the individual was not linked to the incident as a suspect on the Police National Database (PND). The individual involved in the case was a serving police officer with Civil Nuclear Constabulary at the time of the offence, who transferred to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) at a later date. The IOPC understands that Kent Police has made widespread changes to the way indecent exposure investigations are handled, with indecent exposure investigations now being the responsibility of the Vulnerability Investigation Team (VIT) and not Local Policing Teams. As such indecent exposure is no longer treated as a volume or low-level criminal investigation. In addition, further safeguards have been put in place to ensure indecent exposure investigations are assessed by a detective sergeant before being closed to ensure the investigation has been carried out thoroughly and extensively. Since 2015 Kent Police has developed a detailed crime investigation policy which is provided to all of its officers to assist them when carrying out investigative tasks as part of Kent Police investigations. Whilst the crime investigation policy was not in place at the time of the incident under investigation, the LPT’s failure to carry out what in 2015 was deemed a volume/low level criminal investigation is a cause for concern. As such the IOPC believes it necessary to provide Kent Police the opportunity to consider a further aide memoire as suggested in this recommendation for its LPT officers/officers untrained in investigative decision making. The IOPC recognises the actions taken by Kent Police since 2015 and as a matter of public confidence invites Kent Police to outline those actions in full in response to this learning recommendation in order to publicly highlight the progress it has made and enhance public confidence. Kent did not accept the recommendation. In October 2020, Kent Police introduced comprehensive investigative guidance, which provides extensive advice, support and direction on how investigations should be undertaken.  Complementing this guidance is a series of bespoke Standard Operating Procedures which relate to Crime Investigation, Evidence Led Prosecutions, Supervisory Reviews, Suspect Management, Victim Safeguarding, Case File Management and Investigative Handovers. These investigative guidance products are designed to assist and support staff with their investigations and have been designed by experienced detectives in line with national guidance and the College of Policing’s authorised professional practice. This guidance was recognised in Kent’s most recent HMICFRS PEEL inspection (2021/22) which highlighted that investigations are ‘underpinned by an effective crime investigation policy that states clearly what investigators and supervisors need to do to progress and oversee investigations.’ Kent Police has embarked on a significant programme of Continued Professional Development (CPD) with regards to investigation standards and quality. This includes investigative training and development being delivered to all front-line supervisors, a series of investigative CPD events and crime inputs for Inspectors and Chief Inspectors. In January 2022, Kent launched their Crime Academy where experienced Detectives provide an extensive array of investigative core professional development for officers and staff from across the organisation. This includes training, guidance documents, investigative podcasts and an extensive website containing numerous investigative resources. These Crime Academy Detectives are an invaluable investigative resource who are also deployable across the Force to further develop and assist officers and staff in operational settings. Kent was one of the first forces in the country to have its own bespoke Crime Academy and has been visited by colleagues from national and international law enforcement agencies. The Crime Academy complements the work of the Kent Police College which has a dedicated crime training department where experienced staff deliver core investigative training in line with national requirements. The crime training department deliver a suite of PIP 2 courses under licence from the College of Policing, as well as developing and delivering bespoke programmes to meet force need.  The crime training department is responsible for the force’s detective pathway and has a dedicated Detective Development Team, which in addition to the assessment of operational competence, prepare, support, train and develop officers working towards their accreditation as detectives. The crime training department have both programme and operational lead responsibility for the force’s Investigate First programme (fast-track to detective). Kent Police, in seeking to continually develop its investigative capacity and capability, has a healthy number of investigators working toward their detective accreditation. Once accredited these officers will significantly increase the number of detectives working in various roles across the force.In 2021 the Force introduced a Quality Assurance Framework (QAF) whereby each month numerous crimes are assessed at a force level by analysts and senior leaders for investigative quality, compliance with our investigative guidance and supervisory direction. The information from this assessment is used to share best practice, inform training, and address any specific areas for further development. To oversee all aspects of the Force’s investigative improvement arrangements, the Force has a series of Governance meetings which have strategic responsibility for overseeing detective development, investigative quality and the progress of our Investigation Improvement Plan. These meeting are chaired by either the Assistant Chief Constable responsible for Crime or the Force Head of Crime. With regards to indecent exposure and accostings, in January 2022 the Protecting Vulnerable People Command inspected the Force’s response to indecent exposure and accosting. This led to process change to enhance and strengthen the response to both individual instances and more broader responses as detailed below. Incidents relating to indecent exposure or accosting can be reported in three different ways; via 999, 101 or online, however, regardless of how an incident is reported the matter will be subject of the same assessment to determine what level of Police response is required. With regards to all reports of indecent exposure or accosting, such incidents are referred on initial report to a Detective Sergeant to ensure an effective and comprehensive initial investigative assessment and response. In addition to the initial response, each morning the Force holds a series of Daily Management Meetings (DMM) across the various geographic Divisions and Departments. These meetings are attended by senior leadership teams and chaired by Superintendents. Any report of an indecent exposure or accosting in the previous 24hrs will be discussed at this meeting to ensure the ongoing appropriate management, investigation and oversight of investigations and associated risk. All incidents of indecent exposure and accosting are allocated to the Forces Vulnerability Investigation Team for further investigation. This provides a consistent and specialist response to these offences with ongoing Detective Sergeant and Detective Inspector oversight. At the conclusion of such investigations the Force’s Management of Sexual & Violent Offender Team review all reports of indecent exposure and accosting. This provides an independent review of the investigation and identifies any further opportunities to manage the suspect, including the potential to apply for any protective orders which place enforceable restrictions or requirements on a suspect supporting the management of any ongoing risk. Furthermore, the Force Analytical Team review and analyse all sexually motivated offences, including indecent exposure and accosting, with a view to identifying and responding to potential repeat offending and / or patterns in offending across the county. The Force has also developed analytical products that seek to identify individuals who may pose a risk of sexual offending or locations where there is a higher volume of offences, including indecent exposure and accosting. This analysis is then used to inform the operational deployment of resources to locations and / or tackle an individual’s criminality.

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