Investigating Corporate Manslaughter

1
Investigating Corporate Manslaughter

• Mark Smith British Transport Police Detective
  Chief Superintendent

2
Today

• The size of the issue
• Immediate impact
• How joint investigations are managed
• Decision Making
• What the police will be looking for
• How the police investigate

3
The facts

• 241 workers fatally injured in 2006/07
• (217 in 2005/06)
• Agriculture and construction account for 46 of
  fatal injuries to workers
• Falling the most common kind of accident,
  accounting for 19 of fatal injuries to workers
  in 2006/07
• 90 members of the public fatally injured in
  2006/07

4
Immediate impact

• Police/Emergency Services/HSE/LA
• Initial Actions
• Impact on your company
• Impact on you

5
Ongoing Investigation

• Work Related Deaths Protocol
• Procedure
• Coroner

6
Outcomes and Decisions

• Primacy in investigation
• Enforcement action
• Further action

7
Legislation

• Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
• Regulations made under the Act
• Individual Manslaughter Common Law
• Corporate Manslaughter Act 2007

8
What will we be looking for

• Serious breaches of HSWA
• Inadequate safety policy/procedures
• Lack of action to assess and control risks
• Inadequate training and instruction
• Failure to properly supervise
• Profit over safety
• Failure to heed warnings

9
What will we do?

• Forensic exam of scene
• Search warrants/production orders
• Seizure of original material
• Electronic evidence Digital storage
• Interview of witnesses
• Third party disclosure issues

10
Conclusions

• Safety Intelligence
• Action
• prevention better than cure