Police reforming the national approach to investigating unexplained deaths

Freedom of information request reference no: 01.FOI.23.030776

I note you seek access to the following information:

Following the issues raised by Stephen Port's murders using GHB/GBL, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) announced that they would be reforming the national approach to investigating unexplained deaths (Parnaby, 2022).

It was reported that four new classifications of death would be introduced by July 2022: (a) Expected deaths where there is a medical diagnosis;
(b) Unexpected death investigated and not suspicious where evidence shows no third party involvement;
(c) Unexpected death under investigation where further investigation is required; and
(d) Homicide where it is likely there was third party involvement (BBC News London, 2022; Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 2022).

The Metropolitan Police Service said they would “embed these changes across the whole organisation by 30th June 2022.”

To date I can't see anything from the MPS or NPCC about these changes. Can you provide an update, please? If something has been published, where can it be found?

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I have today decided to disclose the located information to you in full.

Please find below information pursuant to your request above.

Investigating death is one of the most important jobs that the police do and how we go about it leaves a lasting impression on families and communities. The MPS Death Investigation policy provides guidance for all police officers and members of police staff when responding to and attending deaths across London. This policy changed in the summer of calendar year 2022 following the East London inquests that took place in 2021. The policy made changes to the language used, by moving away from use of the term ‘unexplained death’ to the following four categories:

• Expected death
• Unexpected death - investigated and non-suspicious
• Unexpected death - under investigation
• Homicide

The policy also introduced:

• Changes to the initial response at the scene
• Clarification of ownership of death investigations
• New recording and review periods for all officers, including Detective Inspectors and Detective Chief Inspectors whilst death investigations are ongoing

The policy places an emphasis on professional curiosity and the THRIVE+ (threat, harm, risk, investigation, vulnerability, engagement + Prevention and Intervention) framework, to ensure that each death is investigated as suspicious until it can be determined otherwise. The policy also, as referred to above, introduced a new review process for death investigations which aligns to the investigation of other serious crimes, placing an emphasis on substantive supervisors and substantive detectives taking key roles. This ensures that investigations are given the appropriate level of supervision and that officers making difficult decisions are equipped to do so.