Recommendations - Sussex Police, August 2025

The IOPC recommends that Sussex Police should create a policy which determines the offences for which a suicide risk assessment must be completed and formally recorded. This recommendation has arisen as a result of a Death or Serious Injury where a man took his own life during a criminal investigation into a historic rape allegation. The investigating officer has ascertained that there is no current force policy which states that a suicide risk assessment must be completed and an assessment did not take place in this incident. These types of cases increase the risk and vulnerability of the suspect and appropriate safeguarding considerations should be conducted and documented. The completion of a suicide risk assessment could assist in the provision of appropriate safeguarding actions, which may help to prevent these vulnerable adults from taking their own lives.

Awaiting response

The IOPC recommends that Sussex Police should review the process for deciding on the method to use when serving a postal requisition and to assess the appropriateness of the method in conjunction with the individual vulnerabilities of the intended recipient. Therefore, to ensure appropriate safeguarding considerations have been conducted and documented for those subject to investigation of serious and high-profile cases, especially when serving a postal requisition in connection with sexual offences and/or sexual offences involving children. This recommendation has arisen as a result of a Death or Serious Injury where a man took his own life during a criminal investigation into a historic rape allegation. The investigating officer has ascertained that it is the Officer In Charge's (OIC) decision regarding how a postal requisition is served (in-person, by post, by email) and that they should notify the Case Direction Unit. The Case Direction Unit authorises and creates the postal requisitions and this unit is led by the OIC. A postal requisition is in relation to how a suspect is informed of a charging decision. However, the Case Direction Unit does not have a policy in relation to how postal requisitions are served. These types of cases increase the risk and vulnerability of the suspect and there are known 'trigger' points of a criminal investigation. Receiving a postal requisition is a known 'trigger' point and therefore, appropriate safeguarding considerations should be conducted and documented.

Awaiting response