Temporary Chief Constable of Leicestershire police Chris Eyre publically apologised for the negligence of the hate crimes towards Fiona Pilkington and her daughter Francecca Hardwick that resulted in both their deaths in 2007.
“We are extremely sorry that at times our actions failed to meet the family's needs and in retrospect there are things we would have done differently. I would like to offer my unreserved apologies to the family, community and wider public.” Mr Eyre said during a press conference yesterday in Loughborough Town Hall.
The jurors at the inquest into the unlawful killing and suicide said the response of the police and two local councils had contributed to their deaths, which encouraged the chief of police to make an apology. Mr Eyre said no individual officers are being disciplined, but the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is now investigating.
Fiona and her daughter were ‘tormented’ for two years by residents including the Simmons family of Bardon Road, Barwell, that resulted in Fiona killing herself and her daughter in a burning car. During the two years of torment an injunction against the Simmons family expired as neither the council nor the police bought forward any further evidence against them.
Mr Eyre on behalf of Leicestershire police has taken the blame for not doing more to stop the suicide and explained that the police have introduced measures to prevent incidents like this happening again. These include a scheme in which every incident an officer is made aware of any other incidents involving the family.
Local residents in Barwell have started a petition to have the Simmons family evicted.
Chris Tew, former Assistant Chief Constable of Lincolnshire police explained ‘Things have moved on quite considerably - there would be a totally different response today than there was then.’
No comments:
Post a Comment