The Independent Office for Police Conduct has criticised Norfolk Police after call handlers told a family concerned about their son's welfare to contact a locksmith instead of sending officers.
On 6 August 2025, Mark and Roberta Harrison called Norfolk Police requesting a welfare check after their son Hobie, 30, failed to respond to them for over 24 hours. The call handlers, after consulting a supervisor, told the family the situation did not meet the threshold for police response. Officers did not attend. Hobie was found dead in his Norwich flat the following day after his parents made a second call.
The IOPC found that call handlers should have referred the family to mental health services and asked more probing questions to assess Hobie's level of risk. The watchdog said there should have been better explanation to his parents about why officers were not sent under Norfolk Police's Right Care, Right Person (RCRP) policy, which limits officer attendance at welfare calls to cases involving immediate risk to life.
The police watchdog also criticised Norfolk Police's response to the family's subsequent complaint. The force told the parents officers should not have attended the second call either, including the one that led to finding Hobie's body. The IOPC called that reply "unnecessary and insensitive."
Hobie had schizophrenia and a history of self-harm and suicidal threats. His parents told call handlers about this history. They said Hobie had been in good spirits when they last saw him and his non-response was highly unusual as he typically contacted them several times daily. Unable to access his flat because his key was in the lock from inside, they called police.
David Ford, the IOPC's director of oversight and casework, said the watchdog was concerned Norfolk Police may not fully understand the risks of the RCRP policy. Norfolk Police said it introduced RCRP in 2024 and the approach reduced officer attendance at welfare-related incidents from 11,831 in the prior year to 9,229 by its second year. The force said it would undertake a review following the IOPC's findings.
Several other coroners have raised concerns about RCRP. Reports into deaths in County Durham, West Yorkshire and Manchester highlighted gaps in response arrangements, including that mental health teams cannot enter locked premises.