Police response times probed after man's death

The coroner for Gateshead and South Tyneside raised concerns about the potential for future deaths

A coroner is calling for action after police failed to promptly attend a man's call for help before he was found dead.

An inquest into the death of Stevyn Carr said the 34-year-old had called Northumbria Police to ask for help and call-handlers graded the call urgent enough for someone to attend within an hour.

However, due to "lack of resources" it was not until nearly 17 hours later - and after his family called police again - that officers responded to find Mr Carr had died.

A spokesman for Northumbria Police said: "While as a force we continue to see high levels of calls for our service, significant changes have been, and continue to be, made to ensure we are there when the public needs us."

The inquest by Gateshead and South Tyneside coroner James Thompson found Mr Carr died due to the effects of taking alcohol and amphetamine on 16 November 2021.

Mr Thompson concluded Mr Carr had not intended to end his life and while it was not possible to determine whether earlier police attendance would have altered the outcome, the coroner said action should be taken to prevent future deaths.

Updated training

In a document published this week after the inquest, Mr Thompson said: "I heard evidence at inquest that a number of incidents were ‘delayed’ for a significant period for lack of police resources and this position was commonplace at that time."

He had asked Northumbria Police for evidence to show it had improved its attendance, but the response was "not comprehensive".

The inquest heard Mr Carr had called police to ask for help at 19:22 GMT the night before he was found dead.

It was not until 12:02 GMT the following day that officers went to his home on Leam Lane, Gateshead, where they found he had died after his family called to raise concerns nearly an hour and a half before their visit.

The coroner said: "No oversight of the incident took place for over nine hours and at that a comment was made that there were no resources able to attend, but no other options/alternatives were pursued."

A spokesman for Northumbria Police said they acknowledged the coroner's comments.

They added: "Updated training has been provided to call handlers in relation to the grading of incidents and there is increased oversight in relation to calls from those who are vulnerable.

“Furthermore, a national initiative known as Right Care, Right Person has recently been implemented, which aims to ensure that the most appropriate agency responds to requests for assistance from members of the public.”