Chad Allford

Susan Evans

HM Area Coroner Derby & Derbyshire

17th March 2025

Dear Ms Evans,

Re: Regulation 28 Report into the death of Chad Allford

I am writing in response to your Regulation 28 report following the investigation and inquest into
the tragic circumstances of the death of Chad Allford on the 27th of October 2021.

I hope to answer the concerns you raised within section 5 of your report, which are listed as

follows:

1. The evidence in this inquest focused, in part, on police officers’ response to concealment of

drugs in the mouth. The officers were part of a team, acting on intelligence, to make a drug

offence arrest. None of the officers concerned had received prior training in this regard. They

employed various methods to try and control Mr Allford and although each instructed Mr Allford

to spit the drugs out, none of them warned him of the risks to his life of not doing so. It was not

clear that officers understood the importance of communicating the dangers.

Since the time of Mr Allfords death the College of Policing has instigated a review of the current

version of the Personal Safety Manual, as a result of this review it is currently being revised,

which is a detailed and lengthy process. Part of this process includes an examination on the

guidance for dealing with articles in the mouth. The current manual does not feature guidance

on informing a subject regarding the risk to their life as a result of swallowing drugs, future

versions of the manual and curriculum will do so. In the interim period while the manual is

 completed communication will be sent out nationally via the NPCC Self Defence Arrrest &

Restraint Panel to advise forces of this recommendation and implement appropriate changes.

2. Attempts were made by officers to open his mouth and sweep the drugs out of the mouth

with their hands. A number of officers gave evidence that they were not aware of some of

the risks inherent in placing their hands in someone’s mouth, including the risk of packages

entering the airway and therefore choking, and they were not aware of the relevant

passages in the NPCC Personal Safety Manual or importantly, the principles relating to this

contained within. This was not only the position in 2021 but remained the position at the

time of the inquest.

As per the previous answer the revision of the Personal Safety Manual includes an examination

on the guidance for dealing with articles in the mouth. The advice mentioned above in the

current manual is given as “Officers should not attempt to put their fingers in the subject’s mouth

to remove any objects, as this could pose a risk to the officer and could possibly push the object

into the airway and causing an obstruction.” Words to this effect will remain in future versions of

the manual and be reviewed against the latest medical guidance for this area.

3. I am concerned that there is no standard provision for guidance or training for police officers

in units tasked to make arrests for drug offences, to equip them to make informed decisions

when faced with this situation. In the Personal Safety Manual ( Module 12 pg 42), it is described

as a 'common tactic used by some subjects during arrest to conceal controlled drugs in their

mouths'.

The issue of drugs being concealed in a subjects mouth may not be as widespread as the

wording in the manual implies. Ancedotal evidence suggests it is ordinarily linked with a small

number of subjects who practice the tactic frequently. In force areas where concealment of

drugs in the mouth is an identified risk, training curriculums developed by the College of Policing

allow for the provision of the relevant sections of the Personal Safety Manual to be delivered.

This facility is available in both the historic Personal Safety Training and the latest Public &

 Personal Safety Training delivery methods. In forces where this is the case the staff that require

the training, level it is delivered at, and the appropriate risk mitigation would be informed by a

local needs analysis.

I hope this helps to answer the points that were raised but if we can assist with anything further,

please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

Policing Standards Manager – Specialist Operations

College of Policing

Contact:
Direct Telephone:
Extension:
Email:
Our reference: 
Your reference:
Date:

13th December 2024

Susan Evans
Area Coroner for Derby and Derbyshire

Dear Ms. Evans

Regulation 28: Report to Prevent Future Deaths

I write in relation to the above inquest which concluded on 24th October 2024, after which
you issued a Prevention of Future Deaths (PFD) report under Regulation 28 of the Coroners
(Investigations) Regulations 2013.  I appreciate the opportunity to address the concerns
raised and outline steps Derbyshire Constabulary are taking to mitigate the risks identified
during the inquest.

The concerns raised are that there is no standard provision of guidance or training for police
officers in units tasked to make arrests for drugs offences, to equip them to make informed
decisions when faced with this situation.  You note that in the Personal Safety Manual (PSM)
(Module 12, pg 42), that concealment of drugs in the mouth is described as a common tactic,
used by some subjects during arrest.

The  College  of  Policing  stipulate  the  curriculum  required  to  be  covered  for  Personal  and
Public  Safety  Training  (PPST)  which  equips  officers  with  the  skills  required  to  protect
themselves  and  the  public.   It  is  for  each  force  to  determine  how  that  is  taught  to  ensure
officers  can  apply  the  tactics  in  differing  situations  they  deal  with.   Due  to  the  nature  of
Policing, it is impossible to cover all potential situations, however numerous scenario based
practical examples are used to teach the tactics required.

All officers are required to undertake the training.  Due to different situations being trained,
dependant  on  questions  asked  by  students  and  the  direction  the  scenario  goes  in,  some
officers will have had training in relation to concealment of drugs in a subject’s mouth, others
may not.  We recognise this is not the ideal situation to provide standardisation of training.

The training delivered by Derbyshire Constabulary already covers numerous situations which
may  arise  when  a  subject  tries  to  conceal  something  in  their  mouth,  namely  positional
asphyxia, ground control and pressure points and we will continue to do this training.

Since the incident leading to the death of Chad Allford, Derbyshire Constabulary have taken
the following action:

Derbyshire Constabulary, Headquarters, Butterley Hall, Ripley, Derbyshire, DE5 3RS
Incoming telephone calls and communications may be monitored and recorded

 2

1. A lesson plan has been designed and implemented to cover the necessary points
pertaining to concealment of an item in a subject’s mouth for training within
Derbyshire Constabulary.
It has been mandated that during both initial and refresher safety training, at least
one scenario covering the concealment of an item in the mouth must be delivered.
 who leads the training has made contact with the PPST lead from

3. Sergeant 

2.

the College of Policing and informed her of the concerns raised. The College of
Policing have confirmed that the PSM is due to be reviewed in order to make it more
concise.  The swallowing of drugs is included within that under mouth searches so
the content will be included as part of the review.

As an organisation, Derbyshire Constabulary are committed to ensuring the training
delivered to our staff is of excellent quality to ensure the safety of officers and the public
and despite the tragic circumstances leading to the concerns raised, we appreciate the
opportunity to improve on the service already delivered to ensure events like this are
prevented in the future.

Yours sincerely

Chief Constable