Gilbert Police Investigation Flawed, Finds IPCC

The Independent Police Complaints Commission has published findings from their investigation into the police handling of incidents involving Michael Gilbert prior to his murder.

Michael was murdered in January 2009 and his body dismembered and disposed of in a lake in Bedfordshire. In April 2010 members of the Watt family were convicted of Michael's murder.

In July 2010 Michael's mother contacted the IPCC and alleged police failed to investigate three incidents involving her son; an assault in Luton in 2002 and abductions in Cambridgeshire in 2007 and in Lancashire in 2008. She believed that her son's murder could have been prevented if the police had intervened.

The IPCC investigation looked specifically at whether the three forces had conducted investigations into the incidents. A Serious Case Review, led by Professor Michael Preston Shoot, looked at the consequences of actions by the police and other agencies who had contact with Michael before his murder and makes recommendations based on their findings.

The IPCC investigation concluded that the police investigated each of the incidents and therefore none of the allegations were substantiated but that all three investigations were inadvertently hindered. The 2002 assault investigation was hampered after it was given inaccurate information from other public services; the Cambridgeshire abduction investigation was not told that Michael confirmed to a Bedfordshire officer that he had been taken against his will, having previously denied it; while in Lancashire officers wrote down the wrong mobile phone number for Michael.

IPCC Commissioner Rachel Cerfontyne, said: "This is a tragic case and one where the horrific manner of Michael's death must make it even harder for his loved ones to cope with their loss. I extend my sympathies to them.

"We looked at specific allegations that the police did not investigate three incidents involving Michael and the Watt family. We have found that on each occasion investigations had taken place, but were flawed due to misinformation, failures in communication and human error.”

(BMcN)