HEROIN DEATH PROBE POLICE CLEARED OF MISCONDUCT

The police investigation into the heroin death of Herefordshire woman
Rachel Whitear was criticised in an official report today.

The 21-year-old shop assistant was found dead on the floor of her
bedsit in Exmouth, Devon, with a syringe in her hand in May 2000.

A report by Wiltshire Police into the Devon and Cornwall Police
investigation found a "general organisational failure" but omissions
did not amount to a breach of the Police Code of Conduct by
individual officers.

Rachel's parents, Pauline and Mick Holcroft, from Ledbury, were
present at a news conference in Exeter when the Independent Police
Complaints Commission report was published.

The couple said Devon and Cornwall Police had not followed their
force policy guidelines that death that might be attributable to
drugs should be treated as suspicious until proven otherwise.

They said in a statement: "Evidence destroyed, paperwork and witness
statements lost, lack of decisions, leaders and lack of direction and
too many assumptions by Devon and Cornwall Police has meant the
result of all this hard work has effectively got us little further."

A jury at a second inquest in September last year, concluded Ms
Whitear died from heroin intoxication, but was unable to say whether
she injected herself or was alone when she died.

After the inquest Miss Whitear's parents criticised Devon and
Cornwall Police, the coroner and the pathologist involved in the
first investigation.

Chief Superintendent Paul Howlett, of Wiltshire police, said today:
"While their investigation had been able to provide new information
about the circumstances of Miss Whitear's death, I very much regret
that despite our best efforts some questions continue to be unanswered."

He said during the investigation it was found that potential lines of
inquiry were not pursued.

One involved a missing tobacco tin which potentially indicated
someone might have entered Rachel's house before her death.

The other was a change of account by her boyfriend, Luke Fitzgerald,
about his last contact with her prior to her death.

"It has been assessed, however, that neither of these omissions
amount to a breach of the Police Code of Conduct by individual
officers, but do indicate a general organisational failure within
Devon and Cornwall Police.

"This is a view that is supported by the Independent Police
Complaints Commission," Mr Howlett said.

"It is evident that officers who attended the death scene did not
believe it to be suspicious and there were valid reasons to support
that conclusion.

"On this basis it seems to have been concluded by those concerned
there was no immediate apparent reason why Rachel's death should have
been treated as suspicious and therefore no reason why a Home Office
pathologist should have been requested to attend the scene in
compliance with force policy," he said.

The decision not to complete a post mortem on Rachel's body was made
following discussion between the coroner of that time and a local
hospital pathologist, Mr Howlett said.

He added that the decision fell outside his terms of reference.

"It seemed the detective constable given responsibility for
conducting the death investigation was not aware of that decision and
that he expected a post mortem would be carried out and that he would
receive a pathologist's report.

"It seemed his superiors were aware there was to be no post mortem,"
Mr Howlett said, adding: "In my view it would not have been
unreasonable for them to have discussed the decision with the coroner
to avoid any potential ambiguity.

"Additional toxicological tests at that time could have provided the
first inquest with sufficient evidence to provide a cause of death as
was the case at the second inquest.

"In general terms it seems to me that the detective constable would
have benefited from greater support and intrusive supervision from
his supervisors," Mr Howlett added.