Gross misconduct proven for former Wiltshire Police researcher who failed to examine Clare’s Law applications

A former Wiltshire Police staff member who put women at risk of domestic abuse by failing to examine Clare's Law applications has been barred from policing following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Following a disciplinary hearing, a panel at Devizes Police HQ ruled yesterday (8 October) that Gavin Hudson would have been dismissed without notice for gross misconduct had he not resigned from the force.

We began our independent investigation into Hudson – a former Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) researcher – on 5 September 2023 after receiving a conduct referral from Wiltshire Police. 

Between September 2023 and April 2024 the force referred a total of 10 Clare’s Law applications, plus three linked complaints, to the IOPC for scrutiny.

Clare's Law allows people to ask police if a partner or former partner has a history of violence or abuse and is designed to protect potentially vulnerable people.

However, we found 40-year-old Hudson inadequately researched requests for information on potential abusers, telling some applicants there was nothing on file about their partners without checking any police systems.

Some women denied access to information, that would have revealed their partners had abusive pasts, went on to suffer emotional abuse and violence.

We found that one application, made in July 2022 on a woman’s behalf, revealed her partner had a Violent & Sexual Offender Register (ViSOR) warning marker against his name. Hudson failed to research the information and the man went on to stab her several times the following year. He was jailed after being found guilty of attempted murder.

In another DVDS application from 2022, Hudson failed to identify the subject’s Police National Computer (PNC) record contained details of a domestic assault on a previous partner. He closed the application without any further action.

We also uncovered instances where he sent out No Further Action letters to applicants without asking his supervisor to review the applications.

A Police Staff Disciplinary Hearing concluded Hudson breached police standards of professional behaviour in relation to honesty and integrity, instructions, work and responsibilities and discreditable conduct.

The panel upheld seven allegations against him and concluded he would have been dismissed without notice had he not resigned.

He will now be placed on the barred list meaning he cannot be employed in policing again in the future.

IOPC Director Derrick Campbell, said: “Hudson did not follow Home Office guidance, and left several women unaware of the potential danger their partners presented to them.

“His dereliction of duty had real consequences as some of the women later suffered domestic abuse. We’ve listened to the victims to hear their stories and understand how they were affected. Many of them said they would have ended their relationships had the information on their partners been disclosed to them.

“Hudson’s actions will have undermined public confidence in the effectiveness of Wiltshire Police’s DVDS processes. However, we acknowledge that on discovering process failures, the force conducted a thorough review of more than 3,000 DVDS applications for reassurance and dip sampled many cases dealt with by Hudson.”

Hudson worked in Wiltshire Police’s Control Room and Contact Centre before moving to a research role with a domestic abuse support team in 2015.

Our investigation revealed he skipped through online training courses designed to prepare him for his domestic abuse research position. Some of the mandatory courses he ‘completed’ in a matter of seconds and IOPC investigators concluded it was not feasible for him to have fully digested important information.

Mr Campbell urged all police forces to remind staff and officers of their responsibilities around Clare’s Law and to ensure training plans were in place.

He added: “We know some police forces are more proactive than others in disclosing information about potentially dangerous partners. Guidance was issued to all forces in 2021 to share best practice and help form a consistent approach.”