Force Communications Centre

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1 Force Communications Centre Welfare Checks Policy Version Version 1.1 Policy Version Date 05 April 2018 Policy Review Date 1 st October 2018 Policy Ownership Head of FCC Portfolio Holder Assistant Chief Constable Dyfed-Powys Police: Welfare Checks Policy Page: 1

2 Version control Version Date Author Details DRAFT v0.1 06/12/16 Insp Gary Davies DRAFT v0.2 03/02/17 Insp Gary Davies DRAFT v0.3 29/05/17 Insp Gary Davies Version /06/17 Insp Gary Davies Version /03/18 T/Ch Insp Gary Davies Initial draft Review date, NDM reference, and criteria statement refinement Updated following consultation with Legal Services Updated following Police Executive Board review Updated following review by Legal Services Dyfed-Powys Police: Welfare Checks Policy Page: 2

3 Equality impact assessment Section 4 of the Equality Act 2010 sets out the protected characteristics that qualify for protection under the Act as follows: Age; Disability; Gender Reassignment; Marriage and Civil Partnership; Pregnancy and Maternity; Race; Religion or Belief; Sex; Sexual Orientation. The public sector equality duty places a proactive legal requirement on public bodies to have regard, in the exercise of their functions, to the need to: eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and any other conduct that is unlawful under the Act; advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it; foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it. The equality duty applies to all protected characteristics with the exception of Marriage and Civil Partnership, to which only the duty to have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination applies. Carrying out an equality impact assessment involves systematically assessing the likely or actual effects of policies on people in respect of all the protected characteristics set out above. An equality impact assessment should be carried out on any policy that is relevant to the public sector equality duty. The adoption of this policy has no adverse impact upon Dyfed-Powys Police s compliance with its duties under the Equality Act HUMAN RIGHTS ACT 1998 CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE This policy has been drafted in accordance with the Human Rights Act 1998 and has been reviewed on the basis of its content and the supporting evidence and it is deemed compliant with that Act and the principles underpinning it. Name: Rachel Jones Department: Legal Services Signed: R Jones (26/03/18) CODE OF ETHICS CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE This policy has been drafted in accordance with the Code of Ethics and has been reviewed on the basis of its content and the supporting evidence and it is deemed compliant with that Code and the principles underpinning it. Name: T/Ch Insp Gary Davies Department: Information Management & Compliance Signed: G J Davies T/Ch Insp (27/03/18) Dyfed-Powys Police: Welfare Checks Policy Page: 3

4 Freedom of Information Act 2000 Section 19 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 places a requirement upon the Force to publish all policies on the Force website. Policies are why we do things and procedures are how we do them. A case-by-case review of procedures must be undertaken to protect law enforcement and health and safety considerations. Where a combined policy and procedure document is being produced the Force is legally required to publish the policy section and assess the procedure part to ensure no sensitive information is published. There is a requirement therefore to review this document to establish its suitability for publication. Please identify below whether the document is suitable for publication in its entirety or not. Where it is believed that disclosure will be harmful please articulate the harm that publication would cause and highlight the relevant sections within the document. Where it is perceived that there is harm in disclosure the document should be forwarded to the FOI Unit for review. Suitability for publication Suitability for publication Yes/No Date Signature Document is suitable for publication in its entirety Document is suitable for publication in part; I have identified those sections which I believe are not suitable for disclosure and have articulated below the harm which would be caused by publication. Harm in publication FOI review to be completed by FOI Unit Suitability for publication Yes/No Date FOI Decision Maker Document is suitable for Yes D Jones publication in its entirety Document is suitable for disclosure in part and relevant redactions have been applied. A public facing version has been created. Once review has been undertaken FOI decision maker to return document to policy author and following sign off document to be published within Force Publication Scheme. Any future changes to the document should be brought to the attention of the FOI Unit, as appropriate. Dyfed-Powys Police: Welfare Checks Policy Page: 4

5 Contents 1. Policy statement 2. Introduction and applicability 3. Policy detail 4. Procedural guidance 5. Non-emergency welfare checks 6. Escalation policy 7. Legal considerations 8. Monitoring, review and ownership Dyfed-Powys Police: Welfare Checks Policy Page: 5

6 1. Policy statement [FOIA Open] 1.1 The Police and Crime Commissioner and the Chief Constable of Dyfed-Powys Police are committed to protecting vulnerable people in our communities and this is clearly set out in the Police and Crime Plan. Dyfed-Powys Police is specifically committed to the continued development of effective partnership working arrangements with both statutory and non-statutory partners 1.2 In the application of this policy all staff are reminded of the need to comply with the standards and principles of the Code of Ethics for Policing. 2. Introduction and applicability [FOIA Open] 2.1 This policy is written to clarify the Dyfed-Powys Police position in relation to requests by external agencies to carry out Welfare Checks on vulnerable adults and children. This document is intended to provide officers and staff with an overview of when welfare checks should be undertaken and does not include an exhaustive list of Police powers of entry. Officers should therefore familiarize themselves with the relevant provisions of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) and the Codes of Practice. 2.2 Analyses of Police incident logs have identified that requests by external agencies to conduct Welfare Checks have been steadily increasing and that some of these requests are not appropriate for Police Officers to deal with. 2.3 Dyfed-Powys Police Officers and staff have specific duties and responsibilities to carry out in protecting the public and the purpose of this policy is to ensure that Police resources are utilised to best effect and in accordance with these duties and responsibilities. 2.4 The Statement of Common Purpose and Values for the Police Service sets out that: The purpose of the Police service is to uphold the law fairly and firmly; to prevent crime; to pursue and bring to justice those who break the law; and to keep the Queen's Peace; to protect, help and reassure the community; and to be seen to do all this with integrity, common sense and sound judgement. 2.5 The law provides Constables with certain powers to enable them to fulfil their duties, e.g. power of entry to premises, but it is important to note that there is no general duty to ensure the welfare of citizens and that Police Officers are accountable for their decisions in utilising these powers. 2.6 It is also the case that the presence of a uniformed Police Officer can have a significant negative impact on vulnerable individuals and therefore the deployment of Officers needs to be necessary and proportionate in the circumstances in accordance with the National Decision Model (NDM). Dyfed-Powys Police: Welfare Checks Policy Page: 6

7 3. Policy detail [FOIA Open] 3.1 Dyfed-Powys Police will respond to requests for assistance from external agencies to conduct Welfare Checks on vulnerable adults and children only when at least one of the following criteria is met: At this time, there is an identifiable and credible risk to life or property. The vulnerable person or child is suffering or are at risk of suffering significant harm at this time. It is reasonably believed that a crime has been committed or is about to be committed. Attendance of a Police Officer is necessary to prevent a Breach of the Peace. 3.2 Dyfed-Powys Police will not accept responsibility for carrying out checks where an agency makes a request that does not meet any of the above criteria. 4. Procedural guidance [FOIA Open] 4.1 Dyfed-Powys Police will accept responsibility for carrying out checks on the welfare of vulnerable people where any of the criteria set out in this policy are met (if such criteria are not met then responsibility will remain with the requesting agency). 4.2 When requests are made for Welfare Checks, the exact nature of the immediate threat, risks and potential harm relating to the vulnerable person must be established (by reference to the THRIVES risk management model: Threat Harm Risk Investigation Vulnerability Engagement Safeguarding): In practice, the Communications Operator (Call Handler) who accepts the initial call makes a decision as to whether the threshold is met for the criteria under Section 3.1 above This decision is made by asking the following questions: o Name, date of birth, contact numbers, and next of kin for the individual for whom they are reporting a concern o Any previous incidents of concern o Any medical history (including mental health) o The specific nature of the concern o Action required by Police o Action intended by calling agency once the individual is located Dyfed-Powys Police: Welfare Checks Policy Page: 7

8 o Enquiries already undertaken by the caller to locate the individual concerned 4.3 Police will carry out a Welfare Check when a request is made to Police about an individual, if it is an emergency situation where there is a real concern or a degree of apprehension of some serious injury/loss of life without immediate Police intervention, or serious damage is being done or is immediately threatened to property. The following will apply in practice: o Communications Operator (Call Handler) will inform caller that Dyfed- Powys Police will attend to carry out a welfare check with a representative from their agency. o Communications Operator (Call Handler) will ensure that clear arrangements are in place for the representative from the requesting agency to either meet the officer at the location where the check is required, or to arrange a location for the representative to be collected by the officer (if they do not have access to a vehicle). o Dispatcher (Incident Handler) will ensure that the attending officer is appropriately informed. This will apply to requests made in and out of office hours. Lack of availability of a representative from the requesting agency should not delay the welfare check being conducted if there is an immediate threat to life. In such cases Dyfed-Powys Police should attend in isolation to fulfil their responsibilities and the matter should be recorded as an adverse incident for subsequent follow-up. 4.4 The Police will respond because it enables a professional intervention if an individual is in need of immediate assistance due to a health condition, injury or some other life threatening situation. Unless this threshold is reached, Police have no duty, and therefore no additional power, to take any action once outside the premises. Officers are reminded that section 17 PACE does not provide Officers conducting emergency Welfare Checks, where it is reasonably believed that a crime has occurred or is about to or where it is necessary to prevent a breach of the peace as per criteria 2 and 3 of the policy, with an automatic right of entry to the premises. 4.5 N.B. Officers considering their power under section 17 PACE must ensure that they gather as much information as possible in support of their grounds and record the same as soon as reasonably practicable following the event. This might include speaking with occupants, neighbours or collating any other information/intelligence to support the requirement of reasonable belief that entry without warrant is necessary. There will of course be circumstances when the Officer will not consider this to be appropriate due to the emergency Dyfed-Powys Police: Welfare Checks Policy Page: 8

9 nature of the situation. In these circumstances, the Officer should ensure their report contains details of their reasoning for immediate entry. 4.6 The National Decision Model (NDM) can be applied, in line with the Code of Ethics, and the Force Mission, Vision and Values. 5. Non-emergency welfare checks [FOIA Open] 5.1 In the event that the threshold for Police attendance is not satisfied, the concern (and the resolution of that concern), will remain that of the requesting agency. The following will apply in practice: o Communications Operator (Call Handler) will inform the caller that Dyfed-Powys Police will not be carrying out a welfare check and the responsibility remains with the requesting agency to check the welfare of the individual. o Communications Operator (Call Handler) will create a STORM log and pass the reference number to the caller. o Communications Operator (Call Handler) will inform the caller that if any additional information comes to light which raises further concern for the individual where Police powers of entry would appear appropriate, they should re-contact Police quoting the STORM log reference and a decision will be made in relation to deployment. o Communications Operator (Call Handler) will clearly articulate their rationale for non-deployment on the STORM log. o The decision not to deploy must be reviewed and ratified by a Supervisor with their rationale also recorded on the STORM log (FIM or Con2 Supervisor). 5.2 It may occasionally be considered appropriate for Police to accompany another agency to conduct such a check, but this will need to be assessed on a case by case basis and it is for the requesting agency to provide the relevant information/intelligence to support the need for the presence of the Police. If the requesting agency cannot provide and evidence good reason, Police will not attend. The responsibility for dealing with the matter will remain that of the requesting agency. 5.3 If a Welfare Check is carried out by Police, the Officer(s) carrying out the check must update the relevant agency and update the STORM log. 5.4 Police will attend at the request of another force. The attending Officer(s) should satisfy themselves that the threshold for entry is met even when the request for attendance originates from another Police force. Dyfed-Powys Police: Welfare Checks Policy Page: 9

10 6. Escalation policy [FOIA Open] 6.1 In the event of a disagreement between the requesting agency and Police, the matter should be referred to the Force Incident Manager (FIM) who will be responsible for determining whether Police resources are deployed. 7. Legal considerations [FOIA Open] 7.1 Police have a range of powers deriving from statute that enable them to carry out their duties. Where there is no specific legislative power, courts will often imply a power that corresponds to the core duties to enable Police Officers to lawfully fulfil that duty. However, powers do not extend simply to facilitate Officers acting in excess of those core duties. 7.2 Police have a positive obligation to protect life under article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights, incorporated into UK law by the Human Rights Act This obligation arises where Police know, or ought to know, about a real risk to life. In situations where a Welfare Check is carried out by Police and there is an identified risk to life, Officers may seek to rely upon section 17 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, which provides that: 1) Subject to the following provisions of this section.a constable may enter and search any premises for the purpose-.. (e) of saving life or limb or preventing serious damage to property. 7.3 S.17(1)(e) enables an Officer to carry out their core duty to protect life and property. 7.4 In the case of Syed v DPP [2010] EWHC 81 (Admin) the High Court ruled that this provision did not justify entry where there was a general concern for the welfare of someone within the premises and therefore Officers were not acting in the execution of their duty when purporting to rely on s.17 to force entry against the wishes of the person who answered the door. Mr Justice Collins said: It is plain that Parliament intended that the right of entry without any warrant should be limited to cases where there was an apprehension that something serious was otherwise likely to occur, or perhaps had occurred, within the house.concern for welfare is not sufficient to justify an entry within the terms of section 17(1) (e). It is altogether too low a test. I appreciate and have some sympathy with the problems that face Officers in a situation such as was faced by these Officers. In a sense they are damned if they do and damned if they do not, because if in fact something serious had happened, or was about to happen, and they did not do anything about it because they took the view that they had no right of entry, no doubt there would Dyfed-Powys Police: Welfare Checks Policy Page: 10

11 have been a degree of ex post facto criticism. But it is important to bear in mind that Parliament set the threshold at the height indicated by section 17(1)(e) because it is a serious matter for a citizen to have his house entered against his will and by force by Police Officers. 7.5 A Breach of the Peace is defined as the behaviour of a person that causes a person to believe that (1) a breach of the peace had or would occur and that (2) it related to harm which was actually done or likely to be done to a person or, in his/her presence, their property (R v Howell [1981] 3 All ER 383). 7.6 In recent years, forces across the country have had numerous cases where exactly this type of post-event examination has been carried out during inquest proceedings. Some cases have led to rule 43 recommendations by coroners. [Rule 43 of Coroners Rules 1984]. 7.7 Essentially, Welfare Checks should not encroach on an individual s right to privacy. 8. Monitoring, review and ownership [FOIA Open] 8.1 This policy will be subject to ongoing monitoring through operational implementation within the FCC under the auspices of the Duty FIM supported by Incident and Call Handling Supervisors. 8.2 Formal review of the contents of this policy is the responsibility of the Head of the FCC. Review of this policy will be undertaken initially following a six-month period of operation and annually thereafter. Any such review will consider: o Its operational effectiveness o Any relevant changes to legislation and/or Home Office or other national guidance o Challenges to the policy o Any identified inefficiencies in relation to implementation 8.3 Queries relating to this policy may be directed to the Head of the FCC in the first instance as the policy owner. Dyfed-Powys Police: Welfare Checks Policy Page: 11

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