Wrong location police 'mistakes'

The incident happened on the A40 in St Clears

A police force has reviewed how it reacts to 999 calls after officers answering reports of a man walking on a carriageway went to the wrong location.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission carried out an inquiry after the incident last February in which the man was later hit by a vehicle.

He was on the eastbound carriageway of the A40 at St Clears, Carmarthenshire.

The IPCC found that mistakes were made by two communications operators in the Dyfed-Powys Police control room.

Concerned members of the public made 999 calls to the force after seeing the 44-year-old man, from Llanelli, on the dual carriageway.

But police initially dispatched to deal with the incident were told the man was on the carriageway near Carmarthen - not St Clears.

By the time officers reached him he had already been hit by a car, suffering serious injuries for which he is still receiving treatment.

However, the police watchdog found the control room mistakes were not serious enough to amount to misconduct.

Sending a police car to the wrong location meant that it took 21 minutes instead of the 12 minutes Tom Davies, IPCC

Recommendations

Tom Davies, IPCC Commissioner for Wales, said: "This was a busy road and the gentleman had put himself in a dangerous situation.

"After arrival at the location, the police officers would have had to ensure that they were safe from passing traffic to get to him.

"Sending a police car to the wrong location meant that it took 21 minutes instead of the 12 minutes it could have taken, but we cannot say whether the crash could have been prevented."

Mr Davies said the IPCC has met the man to explain the outcome of the investigation, and wished him a "speedy recovery".

The IPCC has made recommendations to Dyfed-Powys Police, which is now reviewing the work of its communications centre.

A new training programme for call handlers has also been launched.

In a statement, the force said: "Dyfed-Powys Police were happy to refer the case to the IPCC and welcome the recommendations and suggestions contained in the report.

"They will contribute to the considerable work already under way in force to improve upon the issues that the report has highlighted.

"The force response to the report will also, undoubtedly, contribute to improving our overall operational efficiency."