Investigation into police staff member’s handling of DVDS applications – Wiltshire Police, September 2023
On 1 September 2023, we received a conduct referral from Wiltshire Police about the way in which a police staff member had handled a Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) application. The DVDS is commonly referred to as Clare’s Law, a police policy giving people the right to know if their current or ex-partner has any previous history of violence or abuse.
We decided to independently investigate the police staff member, a former DVDS researcher, on 5 September 2023.
The force referred 10 Clare’s Law applications to us between September 2023 and April 2024 that had been handled by the same staff member, plus three linked complaints. We considered all these referrals and complaints in our investigation.
We examined the conduct of the police staff member and complaints made about DVDS/Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme (CSODS) applications the police staff member worked on. We considered whether they acted in line with local and national policies and procedures when handling such applications, and the accuracy and veracity of the information they gave about their training and experience.
Our investigators interviewed the staff member, reviewing their job descriptions, email chains and training records. We also took statements from the women who made DVDS applications and from other police staff members. We examined Police National Computer (PNC) records, undertook an audit of the staff member’s actions on the police records management system, and reviewed guidance from the force and the Home Office on the DVDS.
We found that the staff member 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 were also denied access to information that would have revealed their partners had abusive pasts. These women went on to suffer emotional abuse and violence. The staff member did not follow Home Office guidance and left several women unaware of the potential danger their partners presented to them.
We found that the staff member handled a DVDS application in July 2022 on a woman’s behalf which revealed the woman’s partner had a Violent & Sexual Offender Register (ViSOR) warning marker against their name. The staff member did not research the information, and the man went on to stab his partner several times the following year. He was jailed after being found guilty of attempted murder.
In another DVDS application from 2022, the staff member did not identify the person’s PNC record contained details of a domestic assault on a previous partner. They closed the application without any further action.
We also uncovered instances where the staff member sent out No Further Action letters to applicants without asking their supervisor to review the applications.
We concluded there was no indication that the staff member had committed a criminal offence, but they had behaved in a manner to justify disciplinary proceedings.
We found that the police staff member had a case to answer for gross misconduct. We shared our report with the force, who agreed. We decided that disciplinary proceedings should be brought against the police staff member and that they should take the form of a misconduct hearing.
The misconduct hearing concluded in October 2025. The staff member was found to have breached the police standards of professional behaviour for honesty and integrity, instructions, work and responsibilities, and discreditable conduct for seven of the allegations against them.
The police staff member had already resigned from the force, but they would have been dismissed without notice for gross misconduct had they still been a serving member of police staff. They were placed on the barred list preventing them from working in policing again.
We carefully considered whether there were any learning opportunities arising from the investigation. We make learning recommendations to improve policing and public confidence in the police complaints system and prevent a recurrence of similar incidents.
We considered several learning recommendations for Wiltshire Police. However, when this matter came to light, Wiltshire Police made significant changes to the working of the team who handle Clare’s Law applications, and our areas of concern had already been addressed.
We urge all police forces to remind staff and officers of their responsibilities around Clare’s Law and to ensure training plans are in place.