Joshua Jacques: 'Serious failings' in probation

Image source, Met Police

Image caption,

(Left to right) Samantha Drummonds, Dolet Hill, Denton Burke and Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo

There were “serious failings” in the probation supervision of a quadruple murderer, the chief inspector of probation has said.

Joshua Jacques, 29, killed girlfriend Samantha Drummonds and her family with a knife in Bermondsey, south London, on 25 April 2022.

Jacques was on probation and was intoxicated with cannabis at the time of the incident.

Police found the bodies of Ms Drummonds, 27, her mother Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, grandmother Dolet Hill, 64, and Ms Hill’s partner Denton Burke, 58, after being alerted to a disturbance by a neighbour.

During his trial, the Old Bailey heard that Jacques took 3g of skunk cannabis a day and refused to consider cutting down, saying he would carry on smoking marijuana “even if it killed” him.

Image source, Joshua Jacques

Image caption,

Jurors were told Joshua Jacques had 11 previous convictions for 20 offences, including for cannabis, being in possession of a silver knuckle duster and robbery

Chief Inspector of Probation Martin Jones, who conducted an independent review into Jacques’ supervision by the Probation Service, said it failed to organise a drug abuse intervention for Jacques, despite it being a condition of his release.

Jacques had been released on licence on 11 November 2021, following a 51-month custodial sentence in 2019 for drug-related offences.

The judge found Jacques’ offending had been contributed to by cannabis abuse, and he was “well aware” of the impact of it on his mental health.

Mr Jones said: “The case records show that Jacques was routinely using cannabis whilst on probation, and his licence contained a condition to engage in a drug abuse intervention on release from prison.

Image source, PA Media

Image caption,

Police believe all five people were known to each other

“No such intervention was organised by the Probation Service and our inspection found no evidence of a referral to a drugs agency.”

Mr Jones said the enforcement of Jacques’ probation was “inconsistent” despite concerns about repeated non-compliance.

“There were serious failings in the supervision of Joshua Jacques,” he said.

‘No intervention’

“Despite concerns about repeated non-compliance with his licence conditions, enforcement practice was inconsistent and opportunities to recall Jacques to custody were missed.”

He said Jacques was incorrectly allocated to a newly-qualified probation officer and management oversight of the case was “insufficient”.

Jacques was also assessed as posing a “high risk” of serious harm to the public before being released from custody, he said, but his risk to former partners or probation staff was “underestimated”.

Mr Jones said that the case was “symptomatic” of issues observed across the Probation Service in recent years.

Image source, PA Media

Image caption,

All victims suffered numerous stab wounds and were pronounced dead at the scene of the home of Jamaican-born NHS worker Dolet Hill and her partner Denton Burke

“As a result of this review, eight recommendations were made to HMPPS (HM Prison and Probation Service). They have accepted all these recommendations and responded with an action plan for implementing them.”

Tracey-Ann Henry, Mr Hill’s daughter told the BBC before the report was published: “If he actually had these issues he should have had a social worker or something who is checking on him.

“And then we realised he’d recently got out of prison. He should have had a tag or something.”

Asheka Jones, Denton Burke’s niece said it was hard to “hear the long record he had”.

She said: “I feel like maybe something should have been done prior to give him the support he needed to prevent this from happening.”

Follow BBC London on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected]