Joshua Jacques: ‘Serious failings’ by probation service before quadruple murderer went on stabbing rampage, finds watchdog

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Missed alternatives to arrest a quadruple murderer before he went on a drug-fuelled stabbing rampage are among the many “serious failings” discovered by a watchdog in his supervision.

Volatile hashish abuser Joshua Jacques, 29, was on probation when he attacked Samantha Drummonds and her household with a knife of their dwelling in Bermondsey, south London, early on 25 April 2022, leaving a “bloodbath” in his wake.

The Metropolitan Police discovered the our bodies of Ms Drummonds, 27, her mom Tanysha Ofori-Akuffo, 45, grandmother Dolet Hill, 64, and Ms Hill’s accomplice Denton Burke, 58, after being alerted to a disturbance by a neighbour on Delaford Road.

Chief inspector of probation Martin Jones, who performed an impartial assessment into Jacques’ supervision by the Probation Service, mentioned on Thursday: “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.”

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

The sentencing choose discovered that Jacques’ offending had been contributed to by hashish abuse and that he was “well aware” of the influence of it on his psychological well being.

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

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

Mr Jones additionally mentioned that Jacques was incorrectly allotted to a newly certified probation officer, and that administration oversight of the case was “insufficient”.

Jacques was additionally assessed as posing a “high risk” of great hurt to the general public before being launched from custody, he mentioned, however his danger to former companions or probation workers was “underestimated”.

He mentioned: “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.”

Jacques himself had reported that “random aggression” may very well be a symptom of declining psychological well being, Mr Jones mentioned. “In February 2022, Jacques disclosed to probation court staff that he was experiencing a decline in his mental health; however, no action was taken.

“Inspectors found during this review that probation staff felt ill-equipped to understand and respond to mental health concerns, with limited training and support being available to them.”

Mr Jones mentioned that the case was “symptomatic” of points noticed throughout the Probation Service lately.

“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,” he mentioned.

“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.”

At the Old Bailey on Friday, Mr Justice Bryan sentenced Jacques to life imprisonment, with a minimal time period of 45 years and 301 days, which takes under consideration time spent on remand.