Watchdog to look at how police handle domestic violence cases

The review has been sparked by cases such as Clare Wood, 36, who was murdered by her former boyfriend, George Appleton, at her home in Salford in February 2009 after meeting him on Facebook, unaware of his history of violence against women.

Other cases include the death of Maria Stubbings, 50, who was murdered by Marc Chivers at her home in Chelmsford, Essex, in December 2008, a year after 
Chivers had been freed from a German prison where he had served 15 years for murdering
his then girlfriend Sabine Rappold.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) will look at the performance of forces across England and Wales, identify where improvements need to be made and report back to the Home Office in April 2014.

Announcing the review, Home Secretary Theresa May said: “This Government is serious about keeping women and girls safe.

“We have seen improvements over the past year – domestic violence, rape and sexual offence prosecutions have reached their highest ever conviction rate for the second year running – so the systems in place to protect women are working better.

“But sadly there are still too many cases, like those of Clare Wood and Maria Stubbings, where victims have lost their lives because warning signs were missed.

“We have a duty to provide vulnerable people with the best possible protection, which is why I have commissioned Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary to review current practices and recommend where further improvements can be made.”

The HMIC inspection will look at the effectiveness of the police approach to domestic violence and abuse and whether victims deemed to be at risk in the future are appropriately managed.

It will also consider whether police are learning from past experiences and adapting their response and whether any changes need to be made to the overall police approach.

Clare Wood’s death led to the creation of ‘Clare’s Law’, which allows women to discover if they are at risk of domestic violence from a partner.

The year-long pilot scheme was introduced last September in Greater Manchester, Gwent, Wiltshire and Nottingham.

In June, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said 65 people had applied for a disclosure about a boyfriend or an individual who was in a relationship with someone they knew.

A further 25 applications were submitted by agencies where it was felt somebody might be at risk.

Police granted 53 disclosures on application, while in other cases the partner did not have a record of violent offences or there was no information that a risk was present.

Sandra Horley, chief executive of national domestic violence charity Refuge, welcomed the inspection but called for a full public inquiry into the handling of domestic violence cases.

She said: “This review is a positive step and an example of the strong leadership from Government which is necessary to make a difference to the horrific statistics on domestic violence.

“However, Refuge strongly believes that a public inquiry is needed to establish what is going wrong across all state agencies and why so many abused women are still losing their lives.

“A public inquiry would be much broader in scope, and would examine the response to domestic violence of the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, social services and health services.”