Family hope lessons have been learned
Body was found in van two days after vehicle reported
The family of a Denny man who was found dead in a van two days after the vehicle was reported to police say they hope lessons have been learned.
The body of David Penman, a 46-year-old father of three, was found within a vehicle parked at the passing place at Old Northfield Road near Dunipace on December 15.
A post mortem revealed he died from carbon monoxide poisoning due to inhaling the products of a small petrol generator found inside the van. It could not be established whether his death was accidental or deliberate.
Circumstances leading to the discovery of his body were referred to the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) by the Crown Office.
And on Friday they released the findings of their investigation – which focused on the response by police to telephone calls made between Tuesday, December 13, and Thursday, December 15.
Commissioner Kate Frame identified failings in the way police responded to three reports of concern and recommendations have been made to the Chief Constable.
The report highlighted how the vehicle had on December 13 been spotted by a member of the public who contacted Area Control Room (ACR) at Bilston Glen, Midlothian, with concerns that the vehicle may be stolen. This was because it had been seen parked there three days before that.
Checks revealed the vehicle was not stolen and the call handler dealing with the matter decided police were not required to attend and closed the incident.
Another member of the public called the following day reporting similar concerns about the vehicle and the same member of staff dealt with the call – linking it to the previous incident and taking no further action.
A third call was made by a member of the public at around 7am on Thursday, December 15, – the day Mr Penman’s body was found – to report concerns about an articulated lorry parked on Old Northfield Road.
Officers were sent to investigate and attended at around 11am. They were unable to find the lorry but came across Mr Penman’s van around 11.50am and saw his body slumped in the driver’s seat.
Ms Frame said that there were clear inconsistences in how the area control room dealt with the reports as the first two were graded ‘priority four’ responses which require police attendance, although no officers were sent to attend.
And in relation to the third report, of an HGV with foreign number plates and drawn cabin curtains parked in a lay-by for three days, this was graded as ‘priority two’ which requires officers to be sent out within 15-minutes of the call. However no officers were sent until four hours later.
Ms Frame said: “It would be unrealistic to expect the police to investigate each report of an abandoned vehicle. However, in this case, had the repeated concerns expressed by members of the public been acted on earlier, additional information would have been available which may have prompted officers to locate and search the van in the lay-by sooner.
“While it cannot be determined that if police had acted when the deceased’s vehicle was first reported, he would have been found alive, there are important lessons to be learned in how police deal with similar incidents in the future.”
The recommendation was for Police Scotland to adopt a flexible and practical approach to abandoned or suspicious vehicles, and examine all circumstances before deciding whether to undertake further enquiries.
A statement issued by Mr Penman’s family said: “David was a loving father, son and brother and it has been very difficult for our family to come to terms with his death.
“We are aware of the PIRC report and its findings and we feel that it has provided us with some of the answers we were looking for.
“We will never know for sure whether David would still be alive if more prompt action had been taken initially but we are pleased to note the recommendations in the report.
“We hope that Police Scotland will take these recommendations on board and that valuable lessons have been learned.”