Controller thought 999 call ‘wasting officers’ time’, report reveals

A man was found dead in an Edinburgh flat after the police response was botched because a controller thought the caller was wasting officers’ time, a watchdog has found.

The controller felt the neighbour making the call had previously abused the emergency system to report “trivial” matters she considered not warranting police action.

Accurate and relevant information was therefore not passed onto officers following a report of a disturbance in March where a 51-year-old man was later found dead.

A report by the Police Investigations & Review Commissioner (Pirc) found the controller at Bilston Glen Area Control Room (ACR) was “dismissive” of the neighbour who made the emergency call.

The report said: “When the controller sent officers to deal with the disturbance she wrongly told them the incident was in the street and possibly involved a woman being attacked. When they arrived, they carried out a general search of the area and found no disturbance.

“As a result, the officers did not go to either the flat, where the 51-year-old man’s body was found, or speak to the man who had made the 999 call.

“They subsequently updated the ACR that no disturbance was taking place in the street.”

The Pirc report said the caller dialled 999 late on the evening of 24 March to report that he could hear banging, shouting and raised voices coming from a nearby flat. The worried neighbour added that on a previous occasion there had been a fight inside the flat, which had resulted in a female being attacked.

A 51-year-old’s body was found in the flat the following day.

A post-mortem examination found the man died from a combination of drugs in his system.

“The report found that had the ACR controller taken the 999 call more seriously, she should have sent the officers to the disturbance in the flat rather than the street,” a Pirc spokeswoman said. “This would have allowed officers to establish the wellbeing of the man, later found dead.”

The report recommended the ACR controller should be reminded to deal with all calls professionally and officers should investigate thoroughly.

Chief Superintendent Roddy Newbigging said: “We accept the findings of the Police Investigations and Review Commissioner and will respond to the recommendations in due course.

“Police Scotland carried out our own internal review following the incident and necessary steps have already been taken to address issues raised in the Commissioner’s report.”

The watchdog recommended the staff member should be reminded of the need to deal professionally with all calls from members of the public and accurately pass relevant information to operational officers.