At least two women were harmed after a “catastrophic” failure in the way a police force dealt with applications under Clare’s law, which gives people the right to ask whether a partner has a violent past, it has emerged.
Wiltshire police has reviewed more than 3,500 applications made under the domestic violence disclosure scheme over an eight-year period and identified 25 failures.
It said on Thursday that two of these had resulted in women being harmed. Another 12 were “service failures” – for example, where it should have disclosed information but didn’t or where inadequate research was done. The remaining 11 were described as “administrative failures”.
One of the cases involves a woman who asked for a Clare’s law check on a partner, a television extra called Oliver Cox, and was told that there were no concerns about him.
In December 2018 he assaulted her in a hotel bedroom and it became clear that he did have a documented history of domestic abuse.
One member of police staff remains suspended from the force and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating what has gone wrong.
The force said that it had still not contacted everyone who might be affected by the failings, which took place between April 2015 and August 2023. It said: “There are a small number of people who we’ve been unable to contact or where contacting them directly might not have been safe or appropriate. We will continue to attempt contact where safe to do so.”
Wiltshire’s chief constable, Catherine Roper, said: “I was clear when I announced our review in October: this is a catastrophic service failure.
“We let many people down and we now know that our failures may have contributed to at least two people being harmed.
“I am so sorry – I remain appalled that this ever happened and it rightly sent shock waves throughout our organisation.
“From the moment this came to light, I ensured dedicated resources were put in place to work around the clock to understand where we are failed, who might be at risk as a result of these failures and the urgent action we needed to take.
“The completion of 3,582 risk assessments reassures me that we are now able to identify the people who require our immediate support.”
She asked for anyone who still had concerns to make themselves known. “I know we have badly let you down, but I ask again for your trust and urge you to come forward if you have any concerns or information regarding people at risk of domestic abuse.
“We have put more scrutiny in place than we’ve ever had into both the ongoing review but also the team who are assessing new Clare’s law applications.”
About 45 members of staff have been moved into the review team to make sure it was carried out as quickly as possible. They have been supported by “a large number” of other officers from across the force.
Clare’s law was introduced in England and Wales in 2014 after the death of Clare Wood, 36, who was murdered by her former boyfriend George Appleton in 2009 in Greater Manchester. He had a history of violence, of which Wood was unaware.
