ANGER OVER BOTCHED POLICE INVESTIGATION

AN in-home care service in Henley forced police to reopen an investigation after it uncovered CCTV footage of a man suspected of damaging its front door.

Staff at Henley Care were locked out of their offices in Greys Road on the morning of Thursday, July 30.

They arrived at work at 8.30am to find that the building’s lock had been filled with glue so it could not be opened with a key.

They were left waiting in Warings Bakery shop for about two hours, unable to access their systems which enable them to monitor the care delivered to their clients around Oxfordshire, some of whom have very complex needs.

An emergency locksmith arrived at 10am and they were finally able to enter the premises at 10.30am when the lock was opened and replaced at a cost of £600.

Henley Care has been operating in the town since 2011, providing round-the-clock support for adults and the elderly through Care Quality Commission-regulated carers.

Despite the incident occurring at the end of July, the police issued a public appeal two weeks ago after staff sourced CCTV footage from South Oxfordshire District Council. Izabela Paluszkiewicz, manager and owner of Henley Care, initially reported the incident to Thames Valley Police on the day it occurred but was told that they were going to close the case three hours later due to a lack of information.

In its response to Ms Paluszkiewicz the police apologised and said it had explored all “reasonable lines of enquiry” but had not been able to find enough evidence “to bring a potential suspect to justice”.

Police said that they had shared the details of the crime with the relevant officers and conducted research on its police system.

They told Ms Paluszkiewicz they had considered obtaining CCTV and finding a witness but had not pursued this.

In response, Ms Paluszkiewicz called around shops in the area to see if they had any CCTV footage of the incident. Staff at the Sue Ryder shop in Duke Street provided a number for the CCTV department at the district.

Lizzie Cloyens, Henley Care’s quality and compliance manager, contacted the council and the next day it confirmed it had footage of the incident.

Ms Cloyens was provided with a description of the footage which shows a man at 6.37am walk from Greys Road and stop near the door of Henley Care, take something out of his pocket and then leave.

He then walks along Duke Street, into Market Place and through Greys Road car park and back up Greys Road.

Ms Cloyens reported the discovery to the police which reopened the case having been provided the footage from the council.

Ms Paluszkiewicz said: “The police were very, very quiet for about three weeks and so I sent them a reminder email.”

After Ms Paluszkiewicz’s email on Monday, September 8, the police called her on Wednesday, September 17 to say they were not able to identify the man from the CCTV.

She said: “I asked them, ‘Why haven’t you done a public appeal if you have the pictures?’ and on the same evening they did this.”

Ms Paluszkiewicz is now appealing to residents who may recognise the man or may have captured footage of him in Greys Road on private doorbell cameras that could help identify him.

She was disappointed by the response from the police and said that the incident had caused significant upheaval to the company’s care and nursing services.

Ms Paluszkiewicz said: “We had to do our own investigation. The police were not interested at all. After two hours they sent an email to say that the case would be closed.

“They didn’t see if the council had CCTV, they said, because it's inconvenient. They have no idea how that has affected our operation. We look after vulnerable people, and we don’t have access to our office. It’s about much more than just about the cost.

“I’m not very happy because I was doing their job for them. I have my own job, and I don’t want to do an extra one.”

Without computer access, the staff at Henley Care were unable to co-ordinate its carers and co-ordinate support in case of a delay or an emergency.

Ms Paluszkiewicz said: “Someone could be on the floor, they could be injured. Someone could be left without their medicines, or they could have suffered complications, and sometimes carers call us for support.

“We would like to catch that criminal and bring him to justice.”

A spokeswoman for Thames Valley Police said: “Our investigation on this criminal damage incident is ongoing and the appeal is still active.

“We do not comment publicly about grievances, as it would be inappropriate to do so.

“The individual in this case has not made a formal complaint to us, but we would encourage them to do so if they have concerns about our actions.”