Failings identified in force handling of abuse case

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) found a significant number of failings and missed opportunities in the way Northamptonshire Police dealt with a domestic abuse case six years ago that ended in a woman’s death.

Mavis Clift, 75, died in a fire at her home in Northampton on January 1, 2008. Her daughter Susan Robinson also suffered serious injuries. Paul Barber, Susan’s estranged husband, was charged with the murder but died in prison while awaiting trial.

Ms Robinson had telephoned police repeatedly in the months leading up to the fire, reporting harassment, criminal damage and a threat to kill by her estranged husband. In total she or members of her family contacted the police more than 20 times.

The IPCC investigation began in March 2010 after Northamptonshire Police had failed to refer the case earlier, and when the investigation ended in December 2011, the force accepted the findings at that time.

Though the death occurred six years ago, the IPCC only publicly released the details of its investigation on February 28, after the conclusion of an inquest into Ms Clift’s death where the jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing.

IPCC Commissioner Derrick Campbell said it was clear that there were repeated failings and missed opportunities to deal effectively with the risk Barber presented to Ms Robinson and her family.

“Our main concerns lay not with individuals but with failings in the systems and policies in place at Northamptonshire Police at the time. Following a domestic homicide review, the force introduced a range of changes to strengthen its response to domestic abuse and training for officers. I am aware that a senior officer has apologised to the family and given a public assurance that lessons have been learned.

“It can never be known if Mavis Clift would be alive today had Northamptonshire Police dealt effectively with the repeated allegations made by Susan Robinson. There were a number of occasions where if thorough inquires had been conducted there may have been an opportunity to charge Paul Barber and place him before a court earlier.”

The IPCC found there were repeated occasions when Ms Robinson reported domestic abuse incidents that were wrongly categorised by control room staff and resulted in the true extent of the ongoing difficulties not being recognised. It also meant officers were not deployed in a timely manner to incidents, sometimes not at all.

The investigation also found there was only limited evidence that control room staff linked new incidents with previous ones resulting in some reports being viewed in isolation.

The IPCC upheld the family’s complaint that police had failed to listen to her properly, failed to protect her, and failed to link incidents prior to the fatal house fire.

As a result, three police officers and three members of staff received management action from the force.

Assistant Chief Constable Russ Foster, Northamptonshire Police, said: “I reiterate the apology given by the chief constable in 2009 as it became abundantly clear after the death of Ms Clift that our computer systems, processes, training and awareness of our staff presented an unacceptable level of risk, particularly to repeat victims of domestic abuse.

“The impact of this incident on the way Northamptonshire Police operates cannot be underestimated – we made significant changes to what we do very quickly. We have made vast improvements to those systems, procedures, policies and areas of training that needed to be changed and constantly review what we do and how we do it.

“We have made improvements to the training of our staff and officers within the force control room; we have also made significant changes to how we assess risk and investigate domestic abuse.”