‘Severe Failings’ by Probation Service in Run up to Joshua Jacques Quadruple Murder: Report

An undated image of Joshua Jacques, who was convicted of murdering four people in Bermondsey, south London, in April 2022. Metropolitan Police

A heavy user of skunk cannabis who murdered four people during a drug-induced episode was allowed to slip through the net because of “serious failings” by the Probation Service, says an inspector’s report.

Chief Inspector of Probation Martin Jones, who conducted an independent review, said a drug intervention was not organised for Joshua Jacques, even though he was assessed as “high risk” on his release from jail.

Jacques, 29, stabbed to death his girlfriend Samantha Drummonds, 27, her mother Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, grandmother Dolet Hill, 64, and Ms. Hill’s partner Denton Burke, 58, at the family home in Bermondsey, south London, in April 2022.

He piled the three women’s bodies on top of each other in the kitchen and left Mr. Burke’s at the foot of the stairs.

Jacques was jailed for a minimum of 46 years last week after a trial which heard he consumed skunk cannabis daily and had smoked seven grams on the day of the killings.

Sentencing Jacques, the trial judge, Mr. Justice Bryan, said: “The tragedy that played out on the night of April 25, 2022 is a salutary lesson to all those who peddle the myth that cannabis is not a dangerous drug. It is. And ... the potential to cause psychosis is well established.”

The judge said Jacques was well aware of the risk to his mental health caused by smoking skunk cannabis and noted that in April 2016 it was suggested to Jacques he should stop smoking cannabis, but he said he would not just because “a white person told him to.”

Jacques was jailed for 51 months for selling crack cocaine and heroin in 2019 and was released on licence on Nov. 11, 2021.

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

He 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.”

‘No Evidence of a Referral to a Drugs Agency’

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

He said Jacques was allocated to a newly qualified probation officer and management oversight was “insufficient.”

Undated handout photos of Samantha Drummonds (far left) and her grandmother Dolet Hill and her partner Denton Burke, who were killed in Bermondsey, London, in April 2022. Metropolitan Police

The report said, “Despite the proactive work to secure partnership agency support for some of Jacques’ criminogenic needs, provision was not sought for his substance misuse despite this being included as a requirement on his licence.”

It added, “A failure to make the necessary referral was compounded by Jacques’ own lack of motivation to address his substance misuse and [probation officer] PO1’s failure to explore and challenge this directly with him.”

The report said Jacques was not regularly drug tested because testing procedures had been “affected by operating practices during Covid-19.”

Mr. Jones said: “There were serious failings in the supervision of Joshua Jacques. Despite concerns about repeated non-compliance with his licence conditions, enforcement practice was inconsistent and opportunities to recall Jacques to custody were missed.”

Jacques was assessed as a “high risk” of causing serious harm to the public but the danger he posed to former partners or probation staff was “underestimated.”

‘No Risk Assessment’ or ‘Management Plan’ for Jacques

“No risk assessment was completed for Jacques following his release which resulted in no risk management plan or sentence plan in the community being completed,” said Mr. Jones.

Jacques admitted his own acts of “random aggression” could be a sign of mental illness.

Dr. Ken Finn, a pain medicine specialist in the United States and an expert on the effects of cannabis, told The Epoch Times the Jacques case was not common but said, “There appears to be an increase in cannabis psychosis-related violence.”

Kevin Sabet, a former White House drug policy adviser to three presidents, said cannabis globally has been increasing in potency in recent years.

Mr. Sabet said users of high-potency marijuana were four times more likely than users of low-potency products to become addicted and daily users of marijuana above 10 percent THC were nearly five times more likely to develop psychosis than non-users.

Mr. Jones said the Jacques case echoed several previous incidents where individuals released from prison have committed horrific crimes owing to poor oversight by the Probation Service.

He said, “A reliance on an inexperienced cohort of probation staff, a lack of support for mental health and substance misuse issues alongside insufficient management oversight are concerns which have been highlighted repeatedly.”

Chief probation officer Kim Thornden-Edwards said she was “deeply sorry for the unacceptable failings” in the Jacques case and promised “increased support for newly qualified probation officers and improved access to substance misuse treatment for supervised offenders with a history of drug use.”

Shadow justice secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “It’s clear there were multiple failings in this case and the government must act fast to address the challenges facing the Probation Service. Tory ministers need to urgently explain to the public the steps they are taking to avoid this happening again.”

PA Media contributed to this report.