6 October 2004
Embargoed - not for release before 11.00hrs on Wednesday 6 October

IPCC comments on Thames Valley Police’s review into Highmoor Cross incident

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) today (Wednesday 6 October) commented on the findings of Thames Valley Police’s review into their handling of the tragic events that occurred at Highmoor Cross on Sunday 6 June 2004.

In response to public concerns about the response of the emergency services, the Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police invited the IPCC to oversee the review, as part of its guardianship role over the police complaints system.

The review found:

  • The delay in attending the scene of the shootings cannot be justified.
  • The reasons for the delay are failings embedded in Thames Valley Police policy and training in responding to firearms incidents.
  • Current policy seeks to eliminate risk rather than manage it. The direct result of this was that the police priority in response to the emergency calls was to locate the offender rather than get to the victims, and an overly cautious approach to the deployment of armed officers.
  • The policy in relation to spontaneous firearms incidents needs to be replaced by a new policy which provides clear direction and guidance on dynamic risk assessment in  situations where people are believed to be hurt. This needs to be supported by new and better training.
  • The review also identifies national issues for firearms policy and training. The IPCC will take these up with the Association of Chief Police Officers to seek to ensure that lessons can be learned at all levels as a result of this tragedy.

Deborah Glass, IPCC Commissioner with responsibility for Thames Valley Police, oversaw the review. She said:

“What happened at Highmoor Cross on 6 June was a tragedy. The people of Highmoor Cross -and all those affected by it - felt they had been let down by a police service they thought was there to protect them. There could be no doubt of its effect on public confidence and the Chief Constable commissioned a review of what went wrong. He asked me to oversee that review on behalf of the IPCC.

“This is the first time the new Independent Police Complaints Commission has overseen a review of police policy, which I have undertaken under our guardianship powers. My role was to represent the public interest, ensure the rigour of the review by involving a national firearms expert, and to seek to ensure that lessons are learned not only by Thames Valley Police but by the police service as a whole.

“This report pulls no punches. It identifies serious failings in policy and procedure in responding to firearms incidents. The people of Highmoor Cross were let down by a system that failed to properly manage the risks and an overly cautious approach to providing armed support. I recognize that there are historic reasons for this but now it is time to redress the balance.

“I want to make it clear that the reasons are not due to the failings of individuals. Bad decisions were made, but I have no doubt that everyone involved genuinely believed they were doing the right thing. It was put to me that other officers in the same position would have made the same decisions, because that was what they were trained to do. So the answers must lie in a fundamental shift of policy and the training to back it up.

“I have spoken to the family and to the neighbours who so bravely tried to help and I know how distraught and betrayed they felt about the police response. But they are not looking for heads to roll. What they want from this is for lessons to be learned and I believe that is what this review will achieve.  There are issues here not only for Thames Valley Police but for the police service as a whole.

“I welcome the Chief Constable’s commitment to learning those lessons.

I welcome the changes he has already implemented and I will be asking for progress reports on making the changes that are recommended here.”

-ends-

Notes to editors

  1. The report, in full, can be found on the IPCC website at www.ipcc.gov.uk
  2. The Independent Police Complaints Commission, established under the Police Reform Act 2002, has a wide range of new powers.
  3. Under the Police Complaints Authority (PCA), which the IPCC replaced on 1 April 2004, if there had been no formal complaint then the PCA would not have been involved in the review.  However, the IPCC is the guardian of the new system and has a statutory function to secure appropriate independence in the system and to ensure that it has the confidence of the public.
  4. As well as the guardianship function, the IPCC has its own body of investigators, drawn from a wide range of backgrounds, with all the necessary powers to be able to effectively investigate serious matters of police misconduct, whether or not a complaint has been made.

For further information, please contact Siobhan Sheerin IPCC Press Officer on 020 7166 3250 / 07717 851 223 or Richard Offer on 020 7166 3214 / 07710 381890.  Out of hours on 07717 851 157.