Wiltshire Police has issued an update on its urgent review of Clare’s Law applications.
Chief Constable Catherine Roper has issued a wholehearted apology to those failed by the force, which she said badly let down the community.
The review covers more than 3,500 Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme - known as Clare’s Law - applications handled by the force since 2015.
Clare's law enables people to as whether domestic partners have a history of violence, and also enables the police to reveal a history of abusiveness to those potentially in danger.
The review was announced in October after Wiltshire Police voluntarily referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) regarding concerns linked to disclosures made under the scheme by a member of Wiltshire Police staff.
The IOPC has determined that they will independently investigate these allegations, and the force has made further referrals into them regarding additional concerns we’ve subsequently identified.
So far, the review has found additional service failures resulting in three further referrals into the IOPC – two of these relate to incidents where the force failed to protect someone after information had been requested.
The force says that whilst it would not be helpful to provide a running commentary on the review figures – as these are ever changing – it can confirm that a number of applications have already been reviewed and, where any failures have been identified, these reviews are now being urgently progressed and face-to-face meetings with the person who submitted the original review are taking place.
In addition, the member of staff who is subject of the ongoing IOPC investigation was the subject of IOPC referrals in 2019 and 2020.
One of three additional referrals made to the IOPC is in relation to the wider organisation and its response to the two previous IOPC investigations, and the force is in discussion with the IOPC regarding a further referral.
To provide the governance needed to ensure the review – which is looking at all 3,582 applications made between April 2015 to August 2023 - is conducted as effectively and efficiently as possible, Chief Constable Catherine Roper has appointed Assistant Chief Officer Craig Dibdin as the strategic lead to oversee this work.
In turn, ACO Dibdin has appointed the Wiltshire Police head of Professional Standards to support with the oversight of the review and has appointed a Detective Chief Inspector as a dedicated Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) to provide investigative direction and accountability.
The force has moved 36 members of staff to work solely on the review team and they will be supported by a significant number of officers as part of their weekly protected learning days - for example, more than 60 officers will be supporting the review team this week alone.
Additional researchers and supervisors will also be sought to support with any new Clare’s Law application made to us. Chief Constable Catherine Roper said: “Last month, I made a commitment to our communities that we would continue to be transparent as we work through our review.
“Having now reviewed more applications, we know there have been additional failures to disclose information which may have protected those most at risk from domestic violence.
“Once again, I would like to wholeheartedly apologise to all those we have let down.
“My officers and staff continue to prioritise those most at risk from harm and will be arranging urgent face to face meetings to disclose important information and offer safeguarding advice.
“All additional failures in services will be referred into the IOPC to ensure the right level of independent scrutiny is applied.
“Finally, I would like to repeat my plea to our communities – I know we have badly let you down, but I am asking 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 and into the team who are assessing new Clare’s Law applications.”
A Wiltshire Police spokesperson said in a message to the public: "If you made a Clare’s Law or DVDS application to Wiltshire Police between April 2015 and August 2023 and you are concerned with the service you received, you can contact us directly by emailing [email protected]. Alternatively, you can find more information on this here.
"Please ensure you tell us if you have previously submitted an application as it will assist us in prioritising our review.
"If anyone feels they are in immediate danger, please do not hesitate to call us on 999.
"If you are considering making a new application under Clare’s Law, please be reassured that you can request this information in the usual way by visiting this section of our website.
"We are still able to process new applications and want to reiterate to our communities that we’ve put in place additional resources and scrutiny to ensure this important service is delivered in the right way."
The review covers more than 3,500 Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme - known as Clare’s Law - applications handled by the force since 2015.
Clare's law enables people to as whether domestic partners have a history of violence, and also enables the police to reveal a history of abusiveness to those potentially in danger.
The review was announced in October after Wiltshire Police voluntarily referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) regarding concerns linked to disclosures made under the scheme by a member of Wiltshire Police staff.
The IOPC has determined that they will independently investigate these allegations, and the force has made further referrals into them regarding additional concerns we’ve subsequently identified.
So far, the review has found additional service failures resulting in three further referrals into the IOPC – two of these relate to incidents where the force failed to protect someone after information had been requested.
The force says that whilst it would not be helpful to provide a running commentary on the review figures – as these are ever changing – it can confirm that a number of applications have already been reviewed and, where any failures have been identified, these reviews are now being urgently progressed and face-to-face meetings with the person who submitted the original review are taking place.
In addition, the member of staff who is subject of the ongoing IOPC investigation was the subject of IOPC referrals in 2019 and 2020.
One of three additional referrals made to the IOPC is in relation to the wider organisation and its response to the two previous IOPC investigations, and the force is in discussion with the IOPC regarding a further referral.
To provide the governance needed to ensure the review – which is looking at all 3,582 applications made between April 2015 to August 2023 - is conducted as effectively and efficiently as possible, Chief Constable Catherine Roper has appointed Assistant Chief Officer Craig Dibdin as the strategic lead to oversee this work.
In turn, ACO Dibdin has appointed the Wiltshire Police head of Professional Standards to support with the oversight of the review and has appointed a Detective Chief Inspector as a dedicated Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) to provide investigative direction and accountability.
The force has moved 36 members of staff to work solely on the review team and they will be supported by a significant number of officers as part of their weekly protected learning days - for example, more than 60 officers will be supporting the review team this week alone.
Additional researchers and supervisors will also be sought to support with any new Clare’s Law application made to us. Chief Constable Catherine Roper said: “Last month, I made a commitment to our communities that we would continue to be transparent as we work through our review.
“Having now reviewed more applications, we know there have been additional failures to disclose information which may have protected those most at risk from domestic violence.
“Once again, I would like to wholeheartedly apologise to all those we have let down.
“My officers and staff continue to prioritise those most at risk from harm and will be arranging urgent face to face meetings to disclose important information and offer safeguarding advice.
“All additional failures in services will be referred into the IOPC to ensure the right level of independent scrutiny is applied.
“Finally, I would like to repeat my plea to our communities – I know we have badly let you down, but I am asking 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 and into the team who are assessing new Clare’s Law applications.”
A Wiltshire Police spokesperson said in a message to the public: "If you made a Clare’s Law or DVDS application to Wiltshire Police between April 2015 and August 2023 and you are concerned with the service you received, you can contact us directly by emailing [email protected]. Alternatively, you can find more information on this here.
"Please ensure you tell us if you have previously submitted an application as it will assist us in prioritising our review.
"If anyone feels they are in immediate danger, please do not hesitate to call us on 999.
"If you are considering making a new application under Clare’s Law, please be reassured that you can request this information in the usual way by visiting this section of our website.
"We are still able to process new applications and want to reiterate to our communities that we’ve put in place additional resources and scrutiny to ensure this important service is delivered in the right way."
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