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ICCP publishes Fiona Pilkington investigation report

Summary: Leicestershire Police’s error in not identifying Fiona Pilkington and her children as a vulnerable family lay at the core of their failure to provide a cohesive and effective approach to the anti-social behaviour the family suffered, an Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigation published today has found.

Leicestershire Police’s error in not identifying Fiona Pilkington and her children as a vulnerable family lay at the core of their failure to provide a cohesive and effective approach to the anti-social behaviour the family suffered, an Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigation published today has found. 

 

The IPCC investigation concludes:  

  • ·         police officers had systems in place which, had they been used properly, could have shown the true level of harassment the family were subjected to over a number of years;
  • ·         incidents were too often dealt with by police officers in isolation and with an unstructured approach;
  • ·         Bardon Road, where the family lived, was not considered by the force to be an anti-social behaviour ‘hotspot’, and was therefore not targeted for a more proactive response;
  • ·         police officers should have picked up on Fiona’s repeated assertion the situation was ‘ongoing’ and that it was her family in particular being targeted;
  • ·         officers did not identify a difference in the level of seriousness between general anti-social behaviour and specific harassment of the Pilkington family, and they failed to consider their treatment as hate crime;
  • ·         aside from the family’s vulnerability, Fiona was a member of a local community who was reporting incidents of crime and anti-social behaviour and simply asking police to carry out their responsibilities, which they failed to do;

The findings have been discussed with senior officers at Leicestershire Police. As a result of the independent IPCC investigation, four officers, an Inspector, a Sergeant and two police constables have a case to answer for misconduct and will face a misconduct meeting. One other constable is receiving management action from the force for unsatisfactory performance. The IPCC has already made a number of recommendations to Leicestershire Police around information sharing between officers and the handling of vulnerable people which the force has accepted. It is clear that Leicestershire Police have learnt a number of lessons since the tragic deaths and have made some significant changes to how they monitor anti-social behaviour (ASB), deal with vulnerable people and they have improved their  management structures.

 

IPCC Commissioner Amerdeep Somal said: "I was deeply saddened to hear of the tragic deaths of Fiona Pilkington and her daughter. I was alarmed to learn that Fiona and her family had cause to contact Leicestershire Constabulary on so many occasions over a ten year period. Fiona, her mother, her neighbours and MP had all contacted the police to inform them that she had repeated and justifiable concerns about her family’s predicament. Yet, no one person gripped these reports and took charge to strategically manage and oversee what should have been a targeted police response. There was nothing in place to ensure the Pilkington family were considered by police as vulnerable or repeat victims, contrary to the force’s own strategy. Systems were in place for officers to have linked the catalogue of incidents but these were not well utilised. Police missed several opportunities to take robust action, inadequately investigated criminal allegations on some occasions and failed to record information on their own intelligence system.

 

She said: "I struggle to see what more Fiona could have done. She did all the right things. She informed the police and other agencies involved with her family of the ongoing problems. She did as she was told and she even kept a diary and records of the incidents. She was not alone in drawing her family’s plight to police attention. This was on top of raising her two children, each of whom had their specific difficulties which presented further challenges for their mother. Her records portray a sense of resignation that nothing would be done and the youths would just carry on.”

  

The 180-page investigation report by the IPCC contains 92 findings on interaction police had with the family and on force procedures and systems. It lists 33 recorded incidents between November 1997 and October 2007 when the family had contact with Leicestershire Police. Fiona Pilkington also wrote once directly to police and twice to her local MP, who forwarded the letters to the force, complaining of harassment and anti social behaviour. Fiona Pilkington also informed police she kept a folder of notes detailing times of incidents and sometimes naming offenders. The report looks at each contact with the Pilkington family and Leicestershire Constabulary between 2004 and 2007 in some detail.

 

One occasion in particular which took place in July 2004 should have set in motion far more robust action by the police in dealing with the offenders. The family informed police on the evening of 3 July that Fiona Pilkington’s 13 year-old son, who had learning difficulties, had been locked in a shed by youths and had had to break his way out. There was a four day delay before a beat officer visited Fiona and took a five-page statement from her detailing the problems she and her family were suffering. She named several of the offenders in relation to specific incidents.

 

On 13 July 2004 police conducted a video interview with Fiona Pilkington’s son in which he said he had been dragged against his will from a friend’s garden to a local youth’s house, a knife was produced and he was locked in a shed for several hours. He had to physically smash his way out of the shed and said he thought the youth was going to ‘kill him’. Police issued harassment warnings against two youths and the incident was closed as ‘criminal damage’. At least one of the youths admitted a knife was involved and being present.

 

Two incidents on successive evenings in February 2007 demonstrate the lack of police response to vulnerable victims. On 1 February a local resident passed on information from Fiona Pilkington to police that youths were shouting abuse at Fiona’s disabled daughter and that she and her grandmother were very frightened. The names of the youths were provided and they had all been issued with harassment warnings in relation to the Pilkington family in 2004. The same resident rang police again the following evening to report that around 12 youths were smashing bottles and being abusive outside Fiona’s house and that Fiona had a disabled son. The reports were linked by police but the IPCC investigation could find no evidence of a response to either incident. The second one was closed as an ‘admin duplicate incident.’

 

Ms Somal added: "Some action was taken by police and some officers did try to assist the family, however they failed to co ordinate their efforts. It must also be acknowledged the police were not alone in having contact with the family, and the Coroner has previously commented on the failures of other organisations that do not fall within my remit.

 

"I have received a comprehensive response from Leicestershire Police setting out the action they have taken to tackle issues arising from this distressing case and to implement the IPCC’s recommendations. I will continue to work with the force and Leicestershire Police Authority to ensure the force continues to improve their police practice. It is an indelible scar on our collective conscience that Fiona’s concerns were not taken seriously and that she was not given the protection that she and her children requested and deserved. It is vital that the police take anti social behaviour and harassment seriously, listen to the concerns of the victims and take appropriate action. "

 

The investigation also found:

 

  • ·         it was apparent how increasingly difficult it was becoming for Fiona Pilkington to manage Francecca, and how concerned she was about her daughter’s future as an adult;
  • ·         warning letters and ‘acceptable behaviour contracts’ were being issued by the local authority and police officers without any co-ordinated system in place to share information;
  • ·         there was a tendency for incidents to be closed without any record of action having been taken, and without any supervising officer checking matters had been dealt with satisfactorily;
  • ·         the Pilkington family was never specifically brought to the attention of Leicestershire Police’s Anti-Social Behaviour officer or their dedicated Hate Crime officer;
  • ·         there was a lack of awareness, both locally and nationally, by police in recognising people with learning disabilities and mental health issues as targets for hate crime;
  • ·         the force did not incorporate the Home Office guidance ‘Hate Crime: Delivering a Quality Service’ until October 2007;
  • ·         From 2004 onwards there was a lack of supervision and confusion over the line management of principal beat officers in Barwell and Earl Shilton.

Leicestershire Police failed in their statutory duty, following an internal review, to refer the matter to the IPCC late in 2007. The case was referred to the IPCC in September 2009 after the IPCC contacted the force and the Commissioner required them to refer it.

 

NOTES TO EDITORS

A link to the IPCC’s investigation report is available at http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/Documents/pilkington_report_2_040511.pdf  

 

A link to the narrative verdict from the inquest in September 2009 is at http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/Documents/pilkington_inquest_verdict.pdf .

 

The IPCC has been asked to request that media respect the family’s privacy and do not make any approach to them. Any approach should be through their solicitor Jocelyn Cockburn of Hodge Jones & Allen LLP.We have also been asked to pass on their request that they would prefer no images of the family including Fiona and Francecca are used in conjunction with stories, including ones previously supplied.

 

The bodies of Fiona Pilkington, 38, and her daughter Francecca Hardwick, 18, were found in a burnt-out car in a lay-by on the A47 near Earl Shilton in Leicestershire on 23 October 2007. An inquest into their deaths in September 2009 concluded Fiona committed suicide and unlawfully killed her daughter.

  

DirectGov – reporting anti-social behaviour - http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/CrimeJusticeAndTheLaw/Reportingcrimeandantisocialbehaviour/DG_181715

ACPO reporting hate crime website True Vision - www.report-it.org.uk

Leicestershire Centre for Integrated Living – local organisation for disabled people - http://www.lcil.org.uk/index.asp  

For media enquiries please contact the IPCC press office on 0207-166-3239 or 3978.

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