Police Ombudsman found that the PSNI failed to deal properly with intelligence that a Carrickfergus man was under threat
Glenn Quinn, 47, was found at home in Ashleigh Park, Carrickfergus, 4th January 2020
Last updated 21st Jan 2024
The Police Ombudsman has found that the PSNI failed to deal properly with intelligence that a Carrickfergus man was under threat days before he was killed.
47 year old Glenn Quinn, was found beaten to death at home in Ashleigh Park, Carrickfergus, on 4th January 2020.
The ombudsman released a statement on Sunday which said intelligence was received three days before Mr Quinn's death but there was a "failure to warn him about the threat before he was murdered".
The ombudsman, Marie Anderson, said her inquiries established Mr Quinn was not told about the threat because he was not associated on police systems with the address given in the intelligence.
"This led to police failing to identify him as a target," said Mrs Anderson.
"However, if police had visited the address it is likely that they would have been able to confirm that he lived there, which would have verified the credibility of the threat.
"This would have led to Mr Quinn being given a threat warning notice which would have provided him with an opportunity to consider police advice in respect of appropriate precautionary measures."
Deputy Chief Constable Chris Todd said: “First and foremost, on behalf of the Police Service, I want to apologise to the family of Glenn Quinn for the shortcomings in the handling of the threat assessment in the days leading up to his murder. My thoughts are with Glenn’s family at this difficult time. Those responsible for the brutal and senseless murder of Glenn need to be brought to justice and I would appeal for anyone with information to come forward in confidence."
He went on to say: “The Police Service accepts the learning highlighted by the Police Ombudsman during her investigation and we have now implemented recommendations to ensure that incidents of a similar nature do not occur again. Formal training for officers required to make critical life and death decisions while responding to death threats has now been introduced. In addition, instructions have also been issued to those involved in the management of threats to reinforce the importance of ensuring that all feasible operational steps are taken to mitigate the threat and ensure a consistent approach to the assessment of threat messages. We must be a learning organisation and I take responsibility for that."