POLICE Scotland was under fire again last night after a watchdog found that officers responding to concerns about the safety of a vulnerable 52-year-old woman – who was later found dead – were sent to the wrong house where they awoke a woman aged 84.
Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc) Kate Frame launched a probe after the woman’s remains were discovered in her house in February last year. She found a series of failings, but concluded the woman had likely already died before police were alerted.
The woman’s daughter phoned the police area control room (ACR) in Govan, Glasgow, just after 10pm on the night of Friday, February 19, 2016, worried about her mother’s safety. Her description and address were passed on but as a result of a known issue between the Gazetteer mapping system and the command and control systems used by Police Scotland, officers were sent to the wrong house. They were given the woman’s name, but no details of her age, physical description or the fact that she was a vulnerable person.
At around 10.35pm they roused the 84-year-old at the wrong address, but failed to notice her name was different from the person they were looking for.
In the meantime, the increasingly worried family of the 52-year-old were told officers had spoken to her and she was safe and well. But she was found dead at around 2.40am the following day after officers finally forced entry to the correct house more than four-and-a-half hours later.
Frame found she was suspected to have died of an accidental overdose of prescribed medication and the time of death was likely to have been before the initial contact with police. However, her report raised concerns about the mapping system and “failings in the actions of both area control room staff and the attending officers”.
It recommended that Police Scotland take steps to address the mapping issue, ensure control room staff pass on “all relevant available information” to front-line officers and clarify responsibilities for updating people who report incidents.
Frame said it was “deeply troubling” that the systems issues had not been resolved and “disappointing” the officers had failed to realise the names had not matched up.
“This case demonstrates again the need for clarity within Police Scotland as to who assumes responsibility for updating those who report incidents and are well placed to identify whether the correct information has been acted on at the earliest opportunity,” she said.
In a statement, the woman’s family said: “The past 18 months have placed an incredible strain on our family as we have tried to come to terms with the loss of a loving mother and understand the tragic circumstances behind her death. We are aware of the Pirc report and are pleased to note that a number of recommendations have been made.
“None of this will bring our mother back but we hope that going forward Police Scotland will look carefully at these recommendations and that valuable lessons have been learned.”
Assistant Chief Constable Nelson Telfer apologised for the distress caused by their initial response to the incident, and added: “Since the incident in February 2016, significant work has been undertaken to improve our Gazetteer system to ensure that address information is presented correctly on our systems.”
Scottish Labour said the case again raised concern over the force’s call-handling procedures. Justice spokesperson Claire Baker said: “The weaknesses in the system must be addressed by management as a matter of urgency to ensure public confidence in Police Scotland.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Our thoughts remain with the family at this time. We have noted the publication of the PIRC report and the statement by Police Scotland that they took steps last year to address the issues identified within it.”
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