Violence against women and girls: End-to-end case handling review - February 2024

Violence against women and girls is a concern for policing and the police complaints system. Complainants and victim-survivors continue to tell us about the barriers they face when they come into contact with policing.  High-profile distressing cases such as the murder of Sarah Everard and the actions of police officers investigating the murders of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman have led to increased public concern about the police’s response in this area.  This has damaged public confidence in policing and raised questions about the cultural attitudes towards women and girls in policing more generally.

We have worked with eight police forces to review a selection of complaint and conduct files.  We examined 121 files to review how they handled complaint and conduct matters where violence against women and girls was a factor and whether their responses were appropriate, proportionate and in line with relevant law and guidance.  This report provides our findings and recommendations.

This document is also available in Welsh.