Leroy Medford

Heidi J Connor 

Senior Coroner for Berkshire 

Reading Town Hall 

Blagrave Street 

Reading 

RG1 0QH 

Dear Ms Connor, 

4 October 2019 

Prevent Future Deaths Report for Leroy Dacosta Junior Medford (Deceased) 

Thank you for your correspondence of 9 July 2019 in relation to the Inquest into the death of Leroy Dacosta 
Junior Medford, along with the Regulation 28 Report to Prevent Future Deaths. 

I  was  not  previously  aware  of  this  incident,  and  I  am  very  sorry  to  learn  of  the  tragic  circumstances 
surrounding the death of Mr Medford.  You will appreciate that I am unable to comment on the specific 
facts of this case, but I can address your concern regarding policing practice more generally.  I understand 
that  you  have  made  contact  with  the  chief  constable  of  Thames  Valley  Police  and  with  the  College  of 
Policing, both whom have responded separately in addressing the issues you have raised.  I have had the 
opportunity to see both responses. 

Your report raises the following matters of concern: 

1.  The most effective way to deliver training to serving officers 
2.  The volume of this training 

 National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) 1st Floor, 10 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0NN - 020 3276 3795 

      
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3.  Whether training can be prioritised 
4.  How police forces can reassure themselves that training is not just being offered, but also taken up 
5.  Whether officers are given adequate opportunity to carry out training 
6.  How officers can be encouraged to review relevant guidance in situations they are not regularly faced 

with 

7.  Access to and updating of on-line guidance and procedures 

It  is  important  to  understand  the  distinct  roles  of  police  forces  and  the  College  of  Policing,  which  is 

important as your recommendations have an impact on all those organisations.  

The  College  of  Policing  is  responsible  for  the  National  Policing  Curriculum  (NPC),  which  comprises  the 

national  learning  standards  for  learning  and  development  within  the  police  service,  together  with  a 

comprehensive range of learning programmes and materials.  The College of Policing delivers a range of 

courses  including  some  specialist  learning courses,  but  police  forces  themselves  are  responsible  for the 

delivery of the majority of national learning programmes developed by the College.  The College acts as 

steward, setting standards of learning for the police service, and assures those through the Police Service 

Quality Assurance Scheme - a system to assure the quality of training, learning and development designed 

and/or implemented by police forces.   

Each chief constable is  therefore  ultimately responsible for the  delivery of training in their police force, 

which  includes  making  decisions  about  the  volume  and  method  of  training,  the  way  in  which  different 

training is prioritised according to local need and any issues around levels of participation.  This is by no 

means straightforward; you will appreciate the vast number of important areas of policing practice in which 

officers  and  staff  require  training,  which  is  of  course  costly,  and  usually  necessitates  the  abstraction of 

officers  from  their  regular  duties.  Chief  constables  are  therefore  faced  with  many  competing  priorities 

which must all be carefully balanced so as not to adversely impact upon the service they provide.  

As Chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, it is my role to ensure that chief constables work together 

collaboratively in the national interest, although that does not extend to directing chief constables to take 

a specific course of action.  I have, however, discussed this matter with the NPCC’s national lead for training 

and development, Mark Milton, Director of People and Organisational Development at  Avon and Somerset 

Constabulary.  Mark has carefully considered your recommendations, and reviewed the responses of both 

Thames Valley Police and the College of Policing.  Mark has advised me that on behalf of the NPCC, he is 

closely involved in the College of Policing’s work on a national strategy for police learning, which I know the 

College of Policing have described to you in their response to your recommendations, so I won’t repeat the 

detail here.  Suffice to say, this has the potential to be a transformational piece of work that I hope will 

address many of the concerns you have raised.  I would be happy to ask Mark or colleagues from the College 

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National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) 1st Floor, 10 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0NN - 020 3276 3795 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 of Policing to provide you with further detail of the programme, or updates as the programme progresses, 

if you think that would be helpful. 

It appears from the response from the Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police that the force has taken the 

points you raise very seriously, and have taken steps locally to address your concerns.  But this case has 

clearly highlighted the need to ensure that individual chief constables pay particular attention to the way 

in which training is delivered within their own force, its method, frequency and participation levels.  I have 

therefore  shared  your  report  and  this  response  with  chief  constable  colleagues  in  all  forces  across  the 

country, in case there are areas of practice within their own force which they feel may benefit from review. 

Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to comment on the areas of concern you have identified. 

Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any further queries about the content of this letter. 

Yours Sincerely, 

Martin Hewitt QPM 
Chair, National Police Chiefs’ Council 

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National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) 1st Floor, 10 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0NN - 020 3276 3795

September 2019 

Thames Valley Police Response to HM Coroner Heidi Connor 

 following the inquest into the death of Leroy Junior Medford 

Thames Valley Police thank HM Coroner Mrs Heidi J Connor for her letter dated the 
9th July 2019 and the attached copy of the regulation 28 report along with Narrative 
Conclusion and Factual Summing up. 

This report is prepared in response to that report and a number of questions raised 
by HM Coroner following the inquest touching upon the death of Leroy Junior 
Medford following his detention in the Thames Valley Police custody suite at Loddon 
Valley Police station on the 2nd April 2017. 

Thames Valley Police would again like to express their condolences to the family 
and friends of Leroy Junior Medford following his death. 

Drugs Concealment in Custody 

In relation to the issue of drugs concealment in police custody in Thames Valley 
Police a number of changes have been instigated since the death of Mr Medford. 
Many of these were touched on in the inquest, but following the inquest further work 
has been instigated which it is importance to sight you on.   

TVP have initiated a comprehensive review process with a quarterly Drug 
Concealment Working Group linking the products of specific Gold Groups following 
adverse incidents in custody to other relevant  drivers such as the Clinical 
Governance Board and national developments and doctrine (for example NPCC 
custody products).  

In addition to training, awareness, and guidance, this governance process is driving 
activity in a number of areas including: 

o  Case strategy and decision-making: refreshed guidance for 

superintendents (to direct the continuation and cessation of drugs 
concealment cases) is being prepared – target is November 2019 

o  Partnership: there are number of workstreams to further develop the 
relevant healthcare pathways (e.g. the consistency of healthcare and 
the capacity of service providers) – the target for commissioned 
healthcare services is December 2019.   

o  Command: improved processes for operational command of prolonged 
incidents are being developed (e.g. handovers and review) – target is 
November 2019 

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o  Resources: Cell watch teams have been increased from two to three 

persons enabling rotation between team members. This enables team 
members to take adequate breaks for the required level of 
concentration, and enables effective communication between the team 
and key stakeholders. 

o  Equipment, facilities and techniques: a wide array of reviews have 

been initiated including the use of restraints, specialist clothing, drugs 
toilet equipment, food, detainee washing etc. The findings are to be 
reviewed in October 2019. 

o  Officers working on a cell watch deployment now receive a specific 

briefing from the custody sergeant. This is recorded once received and 
to improve standardisation and to avoid any essence of doubt, TVP are 
now creating a video clip to be played to all officers on cell watch for 
those on the drugs protocol providing a visible representation of how to 
use the drugs toilet appropriately and how best to conduct such close 
watch on a detained person. We believe this is the first time this 
methodology has been in used in the country.  

Training Concerns 

Point 5 of the Regulation 28 report to prevent future death requires Thames Valley 
police to provide a response to a number of questions raised about general police 
training.  

These are: 

1.  The most effective way to deliver training to serving officers 
2.  The volume of this training 
3.  Whether training can be prioritised 
4.  How police forces can reassure themselves that training is not just being 

offered, but is also taken up 

5.  Whether officers are given adequate opportunity to carry our training 
6.  How officers can be encouraged to review relevant guidance in situations they 

are not regularly faced with 

7.  Access to and updating of online guidance and procedures 

In response to these questions, Thames Valley Police report as follows: 

1.  The most effective way to deliver training to serving officers 

The ownership of police training in Thames Valley Police lies in the People 
Services and Learning and Professional Development Command.  

TVP uses a variety of training delivery methods depending on the subject 
matter and the target audience. These include face to face class room 

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training. This can be as part of a long or short course or as one of the regular 
training days which are part of the officers’ shift pattern (Teams In Action 
days). It also includes e-learning delivered as NCALT packages or on the 
Moodle platform. Short briefings, at the start of an operational shift for 
example, are also used to impart information and allow for work based 
assessment. 

2.  The volume of this training 

Volume is dictated by a number of factors: new legislation or changes to 
existing legislation, new policy or Approved Professional Practice, 
organisational learning or matters arising from performance issues. It is 
significant. 

3.  Whether training can be prioritised 

Training is already prioritised through a governance structure with priorities 
signed off by the Chief Constable and his management team at a regular 
Training Prioritisation Board. 

4.  How police forces can reassure themselves that training is not just being 

offered, but also being taken up. 

Prioritised training will normally be mandatory. Completion rates are 
monitored through a governance structure. Each Local Police Area and force 
department has a single point of contact for training and they are accountable 
to local Resourcing and Resilience panels which in turn are accountable to 
the force wide Resourcing and Resilience panel in relation to achieving high 
completion rates. TVP are able to pull completion data from the online 
platforms used to see who has viewed material and who has completed 
packages. 

5.  Whether officers are given adequate opportunity to carry out training. 

Officers on Local Police Areas have 5 ‘Teams in Action’ TIA training days built 
into their shift pattern every year. These are used to deliver mandatory 
training which requires face to face learning and often have licences attached 
– e.g. Officer Safety Training, First Aid. Officers attend these days as a 
mandated tour of duty. No shows are monitored and rescheduled. Shift 
Overlaps are also used for training – short face to face sessions or briefings 
as well as on-line learning. Supervisors also allocate time to officers for on 
line packages to be completed as part of an individual’s continual professional 

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Development. This can then be recorded appropriately in the Police annual 
appraisal system called a PDR – Performance and Development Review. 

6.  How officers can be encouraged to review relevant guidance in situations they 

are not regularly faced with. 

Officers are given briefings before operations and will, in many circumstances, 
be provided with pocket guides to relevant legislation. As an example, in 
cases of drugs plugging or swallowing, prior to a cell watch, officers receive 
an oral briefing and written documentation to review to ensure they are up to 
date with cell watch procedures. They are required to sign the custody record 
to confirm they are satisfied with their understanding of the guidance and 
methodology. A video will also shortly be introduced.  

It should be noted however, that officers and staff at all ranks have personal 
responsibility to ensure they are satisfied they understand what is expected of 
them when faced with irregular situation. They can seek advice and 
supervision from their direct line managers at Sergeant and Inspector level, 
peers, tutor constables and though accessing online guidance available on 
the police computer systems and their hand held devices.  

7.  Access to and updating of on-line guidance and procedures 

In April 2017 TVP established the Governance & Service Improvement 
department. Headed by a Chief Superintendent, it consists of 4 separate 
units, Governance, Service Improvement, Policing Strategy and Change. The 
Policing Strategy Unit (PSU), Headed by a Detective Superintendent is 
responsible, amongst other things for the development of simple, up to date 
and easily accessible operational guidance for front line staff. The operational 
guidance is developed in layers so staff can access the guidance that is 
relevant to their particular role. This is built in a ‘Wikipedia’ style so if staff 
wish to understand more they can click on links to navigate to more detailed 
explanations of subject matter relevant to the guidance. 

When launched, guidance is communicated via a number of means but will 
include publication via “In the Know” a weekly publication sent to all staff and 
will feature on the Knowzone, an online application (internal) for all staff to 
access. Dependent on the type of guidance other communications channels 
may be used to ensure staff are aware. 

To access the guidance it can be accessed via a prominent tab on the front 
pages of the Knowzone that takes staff to an A-Z list of all operational 
guidance. 

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From the outset the unit developed guidance that was either new or 
approaching a review date. Over the past 2 years it has also been bringing 
existing guidance into the new simpler to use format. 

The drugs recovery SOP was updated into the new format in July 2019. Prior 
to this and at the time of the death of Mr Medford this was contained in a 
Standard Operating Procedure which was long and difficult to both access 
and understand from an operational officers perspective. The new, simpler 
guidance is far easier to access and simplified down to the responsibilities of 
officers role. As an example there is a section headed “observing the 
detainee” which sets out the responsibilities of those conducting a cell watch. 

It is accepted that TVP have had challenges to communicate with all front line 
staff to ensure they are aware of guidance and update themselves on it, 
especially when they are performing an unfamiliar role. To counter this the 
Policing Strategy Unit have introduced Special Points of Contact or ‘SPOCs’ 
from within the team on each Local Police Area so they can build relationships 
with local staff. This will assist with communications locally when new 
guidance is produced so staff are aware of its existence and are encouraged 
to review it.  

TVP are also developing ways to ensure simple guidance is available on 
officer’s mobile phones so they can access it in methods that are aligned with 
modern technology and societal demand. 

In summary 

As a large public sector organisation Thames Valley Police take the need to ensure 
our staff are adequately and appropriately trained very seriously. Thames Valley 
Police has taken significant learning from the death of Mr Medford and sought to 
make improvements in a number of areas, to try and ensure a similar death is 
prevented in the future.  

It is clear that cases where detainees are believed to have swallowed or plugged 
significant quantities of drugs are some of the riskiest in terms of police detentions. 
Police Custody provides a limited safe environment, but a medical setting would be 
more appropriate.  

Thames Valley Police are committed to responding positively to the narrative verdict 
from this inquest and ensuring that we provide the best care we possibly can to 
those detained in our custody suites. 

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