Police officers escape action in harassment death case

Misconduct allegations against an inspector, a sergeant and two constables over their involvement in the case of Fiona Pilkington and her 18-year-old daughter Francesca Hardwick, who were both found dead in a burnt-out car in October 2007, were “not proven”, the Leicestershire force said.

An Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) inquiry found that the officers should have done more to identify Ms Pilkington and her daughter as vulnerable after a series of complaints was made to the force about anti-social behaviour towards the family.

Deputy Chief Constable Dave Evans said the misconduct allegations were “not proven” and the failings were “of an organisat- ional nature due to the systems and processes in place at the time not enabling officers to provide the most effective service”.

He said: “Following an independent investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) which looked at how the force dealt with the family from 2004 to 2007 it was recommended that four officers went through a misconduct process. The misconduct meetings have now been completed.

“The findings for the four officers was that misconduct was not proven.”

He went on: “The organisation as it was seven years ago is completely different compared to today.

“Significant resources have been put into both neighbourhood policing and safeguarding and tackling anti-social behaviour is a top priority. The conclusion from the misconduct meetings were that failings were of an organ- isational nature due to the systems and processes in place at the time not enabling officers to provide the most effective service.

“We hope the significant changes that we have made, and continue to make, give the family some comfort and as always our thoughts are with them.”