Robbery victim sues police force

The case of a robbery victim who sued Northamptonshire Police for allegedly failing to investigate the case has been settled out of court.

Gareth Williamson, 19, who has mild learning difficulties, claimed the force did not take his case seriously.

He accepted a £70,000 settlement as a result of the incident two years ago.

The force said: "We pride ourselves on serving the community well but in this case, two years ago, we did not meet the high standards we set ourselves."

Disciplinary action

Mr Williamson's mother, Alison, said of the investigation: "As soon as we said Gareth had got a learning disability things certainly changed - the whole attitude.

"They didn't seem to be taking Gareth seriously. Basically we complained the same evening. There was no mention of statements being taken or anything like that.

"There should be more training for people to understand how to treat people with special needs."

The police force said: "We have acknowledged that Gareth Williamson and his family received a poor service from Northamptonshire Police and have apologised to them for that.

"We strive to provide a quality service to everyone according to their differing needs, recognising that all should be treated with the same high professional standards.

"As a result of this case we have taken robust action in a bid to prevent this from happening again. We have also conducted an internal investigation and the appropriate disciplinary action has been taken against two members of staff."

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