Police response to a domestic incident - Essex Police, September 2020

The IOPC recommends that Essex Police should review the quality and effectiveness of its initial and refresher domestic abuse training for frontline officers with specific reference to:

- the responsibility of officers to take positive action (including arrest of perpetrator)
- robust investigation and the importance of checking police systems
- completing risk assessments, including where the victim is reluctant to engage, and providing safeguarding for the victim

In this case, the attending officers requested no Police National Computer or other checks on the parties involved. Such checks which would have highlighted that the perpetrator was subject to a Domestic Violence Protection Order which prohibited contact with the victim. Positive action in the form of an arrest was not made, and although some attempt was made to ask risk assessment questions and offer safeguarding advice, a full risk assessment was not completed and safeguarding action was insufficient.

These issues suggest a need for further training including the need for robust investigation, undertaking risk assessments, safeguarding and the need for attending officers to take positive action in cases of domestic abuse. Although this recommendation relates specifically to this investigation, it is noted that Essex Police have referred a number of domestic abuse cases to the IOPC. Our investigations have highlighted a number of issues in common with those arising from this case, which may be indicative of a general training need rather than an isolated instance of unsatisfactory performance.

The IOPC recommends that Essex Police consider formalising its process for dealing with abandoned 999 calls, with any new or amended policy or procedure dealing with abandoned 999 calls to include:

a) clear direction about who has responsibility for updating incident headers where an incident is initially categorised as an abandoned 999 call and further information regarding the nature of the call later becomes available b) instructions about the intelligence and background checks which should completed and who should complete them, particularly when a call is suspected to relate to a domestic abuse or another strand of vulnerability c) specific guidance about how to respond to calls which are suspected to relate to domestic abuse, to ensure that potential victims are not put at further risk including a review of the informal process to call abandoned callers back three times, as this may heighten the risk to victims of domestic abuse.

During the investigation the IOPC found there was no formal policy or procedure setting out the process for dealing with abandoned calls within the force control room including the checks that should be undertaken, other teams that should be involved when domestic abuse is suspected and roles and responsibilities of the force control room.