The police are charged with keeping citizens safe from violent assault. Yet for too many women and children facing abuse and brutality at the hands of men, failed by police officers who do not take male violence against partners and children seriously, this is a theoretical protection.
Last week, an inquest jury highlighted a truly awful case of police failure to intervene in a case of domestic abuse. The jury found that West Midlands police “materially contributed” to the murders of Raneem Oudeh and her mother, Khaola Saleem, in 2018, through their repeated failures to address the threat that Oudeh’s violent former partner posed to their lives.
