Policies for Reviewing Homicide and Missing Person Investigations
Keywords
Policies, Reviewing, Homicide, Missing, Persons, Investigations, Designated, Review, Team, Major, Crime, Cold, Case, Unit, Senior, Investigating, Forensic, Scientist, Scene, Manager, Conclusion, Debrief, Risk, Panel.
Publication Number
PUB 1411
FOI Reference Number
16639
Request Title
Policies for Reviewing Homicide and Missing Person Investigations
Date Range
N/A
Information Requested
Please can you provide us with the following information. Your response will help to inform research being undertaken by the University of South Wales, exploring if and how processes and practices for reviewing both homicide investigations and missing persons differ across police services in England, Wales and Scotland.
1) Do you have a specific policy in place for reviewing homicide investigations? (yes or no).
2) Do you have a designated review team, e.g. Major Crime Review Team, Cold Case Unit? (yes or no). If yes, please specify the name of the team/unit/department.
3) Which types of review might you conduct for homicide investigations? Please respond yes or no to each of the following. Where reviews are undertaken, please specify all individuals who might be involved in the review, e.g. Senior Investigating Officer, Review Officer, Forensic Scientist, Crime Scene Manager, etc.:
a) 72 hours? If yes, please specify who might be involved in the review.
b) 7-10 days? If yes, please specify who might be involved in the review.
c) 28 days? If yes, please specify who might be involved in the review.
d) Cold case review? If yes, please specify who might be involved in the review.
e) Conclusion (may also be known as a debrief)? If yes, please specify who might be involved in the review.
f) Other? If yes, please specify the type of review and who might be involved.
4) Do you have a specific policy in place for reviewing missing people? (yes or no).
5) Which role or team have responsibility for reviewing missing people? (please specify).
6) At what point might you review a missing person? (please specify, indicating, for example, how this is based on risk and/or period missing or other factors).
7) Do you have an independent case review panel or independent members who are involved in reviews of homicide investigations and/or missing people? (yes/no). If yes, please specify which kinds of review they are involved in.
Disclosure with Exemptions
Full Disclosure
Information Correct as at
27 April 2022
Date of Disclosure
04 May 2022
Related Documents/Links
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publish the number of offences recorded as Homicide, by force area in England and Wales, from 2013 up to March 2021 at Table 21 of this link: Appendix tables: homicide in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk). ONS statistics are based on recorded crime, not reported crime, (note that this may provide different data as a crime of murder can also result when the death occurs after a period of time has passed post incident).
FOI 16639 Response
Having completed enquiries within Essex Police in respect of Section 1(1)(a), Essex Police does hold information relating to your request, Essex Police can confirm in respect of Section 1(1)(b) the following data:
Caveat: The data is correct as at 27 April 2022.
Please can you provide us with the following information. Your response will help to inform research being undertaken by the University of South Wales, exploring if and how processes and practices for reviewing both homicide investigations and missing persons differ across police services in England, Wales and Scotland.
1) Do you have a specific policy in place for reviewing homicide investigations? (yes or no).
Yes
2) Do you have a designated review team, e.g. Major Crime Review Team, Cold Case Unit? (yes or no).
Yes
If yes, please specify the name of the team/unit/department.
Serious Crime Directorate Review Team
3) Which types of review might you conduct for homicide investigations? Please respond yes or no to each of the following. Where reviews are undertaken, please specify all individuals who might be involved in the review, e.g. Senior Investigating Officer, Review Officer, Forensic Scientist, Crime Scene Manager, etc.:
a) 72 hours? If yes, please specify who might be involved in the review.
Yes
b) 7-10 days? If yes, please specify who might be involved in the review.
Yes
c) 28 days? If yes, please specify who might be involved in the review.
Yes
d) Cold case review? If yes, please specify who might be involved in the review.
Yes
e) Conclusion (may also be known as a debrief)? If yes, please specify who might be involved in the review.
Yes
f) Other? If yes, please specify the type of review and who might be involved.
Yes
Each review task is dependent on circumstances including personnel involved. In terms of question f) the review team are occasionally tasked to examine a particular aspect to an incident rather than the whole police response. The review team also undertakes all statutory reviews i.e., Domestic homicide reviews or Child or adult case reviews.
4) Do you have a specific policy in place for reviewing missing people? (yes or no).
No. Reviewing missing persons falls under our missing persons policy/procedure.
5) Which role or team have responsibility for reviewing missing people? (please specify).
An Inspector will review active missing people, however, if a missing person becomes inactive it will be down to the Superintendent to review.
6) At what point might you review a missing person? (please specify, indicating, for example, how this is based on risk and/or period missing or other factors).
A missing person is reviewed upon reporting and then is reviewed each time it is handed over to another shift. The duty Local Police Team Inspector will review the missing person at the start or their shift.
7) Do you have an independent case review panel or independent members who are involved in reviews of homicide investigations and/or missing people? (yes/no). If yes, please specify which kinds of review they are involved in.
There is an ACC chaired oversight panel to whom all investigative review reports are submitted (SCD Serious Crime Review Board) and a further oversight panel led by a Detective Chief Superintendent. For all statutory reviews such as DHR’s SAR’s etc. A senior officer will attend the interagency panels commissioned for each individual statutory review.