Additional failure identified by Wiltshire Police

Today’s Family Lawyer previously covered the initial findings here, but a subsequent statement has been provided by Chief Constable Catherine Roper, after an additional failure identified. Roper, said:

“… I updated our communities on the progress of our urgent review of 3,582 Clare’s Law applications.

After this announcement was made, I was informed of an additional incident where a potential failure in our service towards the end of 2023 may have contributed to another person being harmed.

This service failure relates to a Clare’s Law application made after the timeframe of the review (April 2015-August 2023).

However, I can confirm that we have made an immediate referral into our Professional Standards Department, as per our policy, and we have also referred this matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Whilst it is crucial that we prioritise the support to the victim and preserve the integrity of both the ongoing criminal investigation and the conduct referrals we have now made, I can confirm that this was an incident of common assault against an adult female.

From the moment our failures within the Clare’s Law scheme came to light, I vowed I would be wholly transparent and honest with our communities. That is why I wanted to update you on this latest failure as soon as I could.

As ever, I will keep you fully informed of any additional issues connected to this matter.”