Recommendation 1
The IOPC recommends that Hampshire police update their call handling and domestic abuse policies to provide suitable instruction to advise call-handling staff with regard to the actions expected of them in the event that an abandoned or silent 999 call is received – particularly when such calls are received from a telephone number, person, or address associated with a domestic abuse warning marker.
This recommendation follows an IOPC review of a local investigation report where Hampshire police received two abandoned / silent 999 calls from a telephone number associated with a high-risk domestic abuse warning marker. The force did not initially deploy as the call wasn’t initially graded as Grade 1 and the caller was located a number of hours later with serious injuries following a domestic abuse assault. At the time of the incident Hampshire did not have any clear guidance in place with regard to how their call-handlers should respond to abandoned / silent 999 calls. Following this incident the force issued a circular to call-handlers on this issue (stating that all silent or abandoned calls from a number associated with a high-risk domestic abuse warning marker should now initiate a Grade 1 response) and enhanced their training package, however they have not updated their force call-handling or domestic abuse policies to incorporate the proposed change in standard operating practice outlined above. The call-handling and domestic abuse policies provided to the IOPC by the force were both significantly past their review dates and contained insufficient content and detail to allow for the provision of effective guidance of what is expected from staff in relation to these areas.
Do you accept the recommendation?
Yes
Addressed to: Hampshire police
Linked bodies:
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary