Police response to allegations that a man was being followed and received threats on social media – Metropolitan Police Service, December 2022

On 10 December 2022, a man called 999 to report that a car had been following him while he was driving in Feltham, West London. In this phone call, the man said he had received a malicious message over social media which included a threat to kidnap his children. 

Two Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers stopped the car and questioned the driver and the passenger suspected of following the man. They both denied following anyone. It appears that there was no further investigation after this initial stop and the appropriate reports were not created. 

On 31 December 2022, a woman who was in a romantic relationship with the caller was murdered. The named suspect had been housemates with the victim and had also been the passenger in the car reported to the police three weeks earlier.

This came to our attention in February 2023 as a conduct referral to investigate whether the initial responding officer carried out a sufficient investigation.

On 3 March 2023, the second responding officer was added to the referral since they worked as a pair to conduct the initial investigation.

We obtained evidence that indicated both officers did not thoroughly investigate claims, or create appropriate reports, that a member of the public had been followed home from work and had been sent threatening messages. 

During our investigation, we interviewed the two police officers under misconduct caution, reviewed body worn video footage of the incident, reviewed radio transmissions and obtained a statement from the caller. 

Our investigation concluded in September 2023, but we waited for all external proceedings to conclude before sharing our findings. 

In February 2024, the officers attended a misconduct meeting for alleged breaches of the standards of professional behaviour relating to duties and responsibilities.

The meeting concluded both officers were to undergo the reflective practice review process. 

An officer reflecting on their actions is a formal process reflected in legislation. The reflective practice review process consists of a fact-finding stage and a discussion stage, followed by the production of a reflective review development report. The discussion must include:

• a discussion of the practice requiring improvement and related circumstances that have been identified, and
• the identification of key lessons to be learnt by the participating officer, line management or police force concerned, to address the matter and prevent a reoccurrence of the matter.

We carefully considered whether there were any organisational learning opportunities arising from the investigation. We make learning recommendations to improve policing and public confidence in the police complaints system and prevent a recurrence of similar incidents. 

In this case, the investigation has not identified any organisational learning.