Police contact with woman before her murder - North Wales Police, August 2017
In August 2017, a woman was stabbed to death in Denbigh town centre by her former partner. The man was found guilty of the woman’s murder in March 2018.
Eighteen reports concerning the victim and the man had been made to North Wales Police over a two-year period between August 2015 and August 2017, including verbal altercations and allegations of assault.
Our investigation followed a mandatory referral from North Wales Police and considered whether reported incidents had been appropriately resourced and progressed, whether appropriate risk assessments and safety plans had been implemented, and whether the police response had been in accordance with local and national police policy and guidance.
During the course of our investigation, our investigators interviewed three police officers and one call handler, as well as a number of witnesses.
Our investigation found that, prior to the murder, the man had not been arrested or interviewed in respect of the alleged domestic abuse, nor had his phone been seized to progress allegations of harassment, stalking or malicious communications.
In respect of the two allegations of assault made by the woman, police officers had made numerous, unsuccessful attempts to obtain an account from her, but, beyond referrals to other agencies, did not implement any additional safeguarding measures, nor pursue the man based on the information they had.
Based on the evidence available, we were of the opinion that one officer may have a case to answer for misconduct for allegations that they failed to comply with the North Wales Police domestic abuse policy after the man sent threatening messages to the woman. We were also of the opinion that another officer may have a case to answer for misconduct but, as they were no longer serving, no further action could be taken. We completed our investigation in December 2018.
After reviewing our report, North Wales Police agreed to hold a misconduct meeting, where misconduct was found for the officer in April 2019.
We identified areas for improvement for the force, which they have implemented, including making activation of body-worn video mandatory when attending domestic abuse incidents, and stopping the use of Police Information Notices in stalking cases, in line with national guidance, and updating force policy.
North Wales Police has also created a new post for a Protecting Vulnerable People trainer to help improve the force’s training in relation to domestic abuse. Further training for all frontline staff has also been commissioned on coercive and controlling behaviour, stalking and harassment, sexual violence and cultural issues.