The Learning the Lessons Committee is a multi-agency committee established to disseminate and promote learning across the police service. Its members are: ACPO, APA, Home Office, IPCC, HMIC and the NPIA. The Committee produces bulletins with articles containing lessons from investigations.

Checking up on suicide threats

Police officers were called to cliff tops where a man had been found unconscious, with a bottle of Cognac. They arranged for an ambulance to take him to hospital.

The police told staff at the hospital about a "suicidal"warning marker they had found on the Police National Computer and the circumstances in which they had found the man. He later told staff himself about his suicidal intentions and they planned to have him assessed by psychiatric staff as soon as he sobered up. However, he left the hospital later that evening before they could do so.

When staff noticed he was gone they reported him missing to the police.

A communications operator called the man's mobile phone and tried to find out where he was so that she could direct officers to him. He made it clear that he was planning to kill himself, but the operator, who had not been trained to deal with situations of this nature, had no means of alerting a supervisor except by typing a message and she was afraid this would disrupt the call.

Eventually, after the man told her his location, she was able to get the attention of a colleague so that officers could be dispatched. The man then ended the call.

Later that day the man's body was found at the bottom of the cliffs.

Although it was not her fault, the operator suffered guilt and stress at not being able to prevent his death.

Key questions – for policy makers/managers:

• Can your communications operators alert supervisors to calls that should be monitored in a way that does not risk disrupting the call?

• Are your communications operators trained to deal with suicidal callers or life threatening situations?

• Are staff involved in stressful incidents routinely debriefed and offered counselling?

Click on the link below to the full learning report