Findings issued from investigation into West Mercia Police contact prior to murder of Alfie Steele

An Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation into how West Mercia Police (WMP) responded to incidents concerning Alfie Steele found no indication that any officers had breached professional standards, but that the force did not sufficiently train frontline officers to identify child abuse.

Alfie, aged nine, died at his home in Droitwich, in February 2021 after repeatedly being abused, including being put in a cold bath. His mother, Carla Scott, was found guilty of manslaughter and her partner, Dirk Howell, was convicted of murder in June 2023. The pair had a significant amount of contact with WMP in the years before Alfie died. After the court case concluded, the force made a mandatory referral to the IOPC in relation to that prior contact.

During the course of our investigation, we examined 20 separate incidents where the force had interactions with Alfie, his mother or her partner, between March 2018 and February 2021, which were repeatedly about welfare concerns reported by worried neighbours and eyewitnesses. Although every call made to WMP was responded to, a different police officer or police community support officer (PCSO) attended on each occasion and Alfie was never spoken to by any officer on his own. The climate of fear which existed within the family home often led to Alfie being in bed allegedly asleep during many of the times police were called. Alfie’s mother also often answered any questions on his behalf, which meant his voice was never heard by police.

We identified learning in relation to putting warning markers on WMP command and control logs highlighting that a child at a particular address is the subject of a Child Protection Plan. We also recommended that force policies regarding referrals to children’s services are reviewed to ensure they are fit for purpose. WMP accepted and implemented these areas of learning.

IOPC Director Derrick Campbell said: “First and foremost, my thoughts and sympathies remain with Alfie’s family and everyone affected by his tragic and shocking death.

“Our investigation has been painstakingly thorough, examining hundreds of documents, spanning the years that West Mercia Police had contact with Alfie, his mother and her partner. It is important to note that in most of the incidents, officers did take some positive action and children’s services were appropriately made aware of every single police attendance. Many other concerns, not shared with the police, were dealt with at local authority level. 

“We found no indication of misconduct by any individual officer, but we recommended that eight police constables and two PCSOs undertake reflective practice to review how they handled interactions concerning Alfie. In our view, when called to the home, officers should have found a way to speak to Alfie without other adults being present, in line with best practice. On some occasions officers lacked professional curiosity and could have undertaken further enquiries.

“There was a culture of fear within the household which, when coupled with lockdown, severely reduced Alfie’s world. There were few opportunities for Alfie to feel safe enough to make a disclosure to professionals about what was happening within the family home. Carla Scott contributed greatly by failing to safeguard him and failing to put his safety and wellbeing before her loyalty to her partner.

“In that cruel environment, Alfie appears to have had to adopt extreme compliance, evidenced by him being in bed allegedly asleep on many of the occasions the police were called, sometimes within a short time of a reported incident. 

“It is reassuring that West Mercia Police have committed to ensuring that everyone who works in the force knows Alfie’s story. We have been advised that since we began our investigation, the force has trained hundreds more officers in relation to ensuring that children do have a voice regarding any report about the welfare of a child.” 

During the IOPC investigation which ended in February this year, we reviewed a wealth of documentation detailing all 20 police contacts including statements from police officers, social workers and neighbours, crime and investigation reports, police logs, children’s services’ records, 999 calls, body worn video and ring doorbell footage. We considered a range of child protection policies and procedures along with relevant legislation.   

Notes to editors

Examples of the incidents we scrutinised include:

• On an evening in May 2020, WMP were contacted by concerned neighbours stating that a child they believed to be Alfie was standing ‘like a statue’ in the garden with a man shouting at him. The neighbour added that the child had been outside for approximately 10 minutes and the shouting had continued after the child had gone back inside the house.
  Attending officers checked with social workers and were informed that the occupants were known to social services and that Dirk Howell posed a risk to Alfie and should not be there, although there was no order enforcing this. Body worn video we examined showed Alfie’s mother repeatedly stating that her partner was not there, however the officer remained persistent and eventually Howell left the property.
  The officer checked on Alfie by asking him if he was ‘alright’. Alfie nodded but did not speak and he was not asked about the garden incident. There was no evidence that the caller was spoken to again to obtain further information. Howell was not asked for his account, despite being seen and briefly spoken to by the officer when he left the address.

   

• An evening in August 2020 a neighbour rang WMP about concerns for Alfie’s safety, stating that it seemed like he was being “hurt”, and a man could be heard shouting and swearing, with someone “thrashing around the bath…maybe he’s being hit and held under the water or something”.
  The call was graded ‘immediate’ and a few minutes later the police log was updated to show that Alfie was subject to a care plan.
  Two officers went to Alfie’s home just before 9pm. One of the officers spoke to Alfie’s mother who said he was “playing up in the bath, so he was told off”. 
  Both officers went upstairs to check on Alfie, who appeared to be asleep in his bedroom. They concluded that he was ‘safe and well’ although acknowledged he may still be the subject of abuse. There was no record of Alfie being spoken to in order to get his account of the noises heard.
  One of the officers said that although they were aware Mr Howell was home, they did not see him. The officers were informed Mr Howell was not meant to have contact with Alfie due to the concerns social services had. However, there were no police powers to enforce his removal from the address, so they were unable to take any action. Police contacted children’s services the following day to inform them of their attendance. This incident occurred six months prior to Alfie’s murder. A police officer completed a risk assessment and recorded that random visits by the safeguarding team would be beneficial. There is no evidence any such visits took place.