Police contact with woman before being murdered by ex-partner – West Yorkshire Police, August 2019
On 16 August 2019, a woman made a telephone complaint to Derbyshire Constabulary in relation to an allegation that her ex-partner had threatened a male friend of hers. On 19 August, her ex-partner attended a West Yorkshire Police (WYP) station to admit that he had threatened the woman’s friend. The ex-partner was already known to the police as having a history of mental health and domestic violence issues. On 19 August, the woman attended a WYP station. She made a …
Recommendations
9 totalThe IOPC recommends that West Yorkshire Police reminds all officers and police staff that intelligence gained from incident reports should be uploaded to individual Niche intelligence profiles at the earliest opportunity. An IOPC investigation identified that significant intelligence relating to allegations of domestic abuse was not recorded on police systems. This meant that this information was not available to other personnel and could not assist with decision making or the assessment of risk to the victim. Force response:
Accepted– this can be reiterated and policy checked, but should be taking place already, not just within DA but all crime types. Accepted – SCGU have amended the Force’s DA policy and this need will continue to be reiterated on the Force’s DA meeting at strategic (PVP), tactical (DA Tasking & Delivery Group) and operational (DA DI meeting). This also forms part of the Force strategic and tactical plans which Force Intelligence are allocated. Translating operational information into intelligence is however an issue across all crime types and not just DA but is clearly a priority given the threat and risk associated with it. IOPC explanatory notes on the force response:DA - domestic abuseSCGU - Safeguarding Central Governance UnitPVP - Protecting Vulnerable PersonsDI - Detective InspectorSLT - Senior Leadership Team
The IOPC recommends that a system is put in place to track domestic abuse cases that are returned to officers because the minimum standards of investigation were not met. This system should ensure that cases are progressed with appropriate supervision and returned to the safeguarding unit for investigation where appropriate. This follows an IOPC investigation where a case was returned to a probationary constable because the minimum standards of investigation had not been met. The officer had not yet completed his probationary service and should not have led the investigation without supervision. When the minimum standards were met the investigation was not referred to the safeguarding unit or domestic abuse team who should have been responsible for investigating this incident. Force response:
Accepted with caveat– WYP do not have a system that can easily be used to track cases in the manner suggested in this and recommendations from other IOPC reviews (redacted). Niche does not have this functionality. Given the differing sizes of districts in the Force, differing volumes and slightly different DA Team structures, this would have to be done at a local level. The potential for cases dropping between the pavement cracks cannot be ignored but the response cannot currently be automated. This is however being reiterated on the Force DIs meeting (it has been raised before) and will need to be shared with Response managers and supervisors, as it does link in with recommendation 3. SCGU can include this aspect in its DA audit schedule.
The IOPC recommends that West Yorkshire Police should ensure that all probationary officers that are deployed have appropriate support in place to review and supervise their work. This follows an IOPC Investigation where a probationary WYP officer dealt with a serious domestic abuse investigation. The probationer was not supervised appropriately nor did he receive supervisory support and guidance. Force response:
Accepted– this should be occurring in any event, so would simply be a reiteration of what supervisors should be doing with student officers’ workloads, but especially those involving vulnerability.Accepted – it is considered that this should be occurring in any event, although there is an acceptance that it hasn’t in this incident. Supervision of all response officers managing DA incidents or other incidents of vulnerability, and especially those who are young in service has been reiterated with District SLTs. Learning & Organisational Development will be sighted on this for awareness in Student Officer training and new supervisor training. District DA meetings, that are currently responding to the Force’s increased scrutiny on DA will also take this into account when holding their own district structures to account.
[Recommendation 4 not taken forward]
The IOPC recommends that West Yorkshire Police review their domestic abuse policies and training to ensure that officers are clear on their responsibilities and the procedures that should be followed when dealing with domestic abuse incidents. This recommendation follows an IOPC investigation where a probationary officer failed to understand and adequately complete a domestic abuse risk assessment (known as DASH), failed to understand and complete incident logs or complete other investigative tasks. Force response:
Accepted– although this is part of SCGU’s routine business, but district will be reminded that compliance does sit with them. Accepted– this will continue to be reiterated as in recommendation 3.
It is recommended that West Yorkshire Police remind Sergeants that DASH risk assessments and any supporting statements should be reviewed to endorse the risk level attributed to a victim. This recommendation follows an IOPC investigation where a probationary officer failed adequately complete a domestic violence risk assessment. This was not subject to any supervisory oversight. Force response:
Accepted with caveat– this simply needs reiteration – it is and has been routine business. Accepted- DASH is completed at the scene on officer’s handheld devices. Where the response to a question is ‘yes’ or ‘other’ it is mandatory for officers to provide further information. The Force is developing a data platform which will allow us to quality assure the responses on the DASH, for example if adequate information is not provided this can be addressed with the officers concerned at the earliest opportunity. Ahead of this development being finalised SCGU will have planned DASH dip samples to ensure that this is not being done.
The IOPC recommends that West Yorkshire Police remind officers that when completing a DASH risk assessment form, if the category ‘other’ is chosen, a full explanation must be provided in the free text field. In addition, routine audits should be undertaken to ensure that the use of single character answers is not used routinely. This follows an IOPC investigation whereby an officer failed to fully understand and accurately complete a DASH risk assessment in respect of a victim. In addition, no PNC checks were completed, No explanatory notes were included when an answer was completed as ‘other’ and insufficient appreciation was shown about why certain questions were asked on the form. Comprehensive completion of the form would have provided additional information which would assist when supervisors review and validate the risk posed to a victim. Force response: Concerns– the WYP DASH form is an enhanced version of the national form and already includes areas that other Forces do not include, such as child demeanour. IOPC explanatory notes on the force response:HMICFRS – His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services.Last sentence: the writer is DCI Allan Raw of WYP, Nicola Pringle is Safeguarding Delivery Manager.
[Recommendation 8 not taken forward]
[Recommendation 9 not taken forward]