Response to request for a domestic violence disclosure check - Wiltshire Police, April 2019

On 14 November 2018, a woman contacted Wiltshire Police for a domestic violence disclosure scheme (DVDS) check on her partner. The force control room received the application and began processing the request.

On 15 November 2018, the domestic violence disclosure team opened the application and completed two police national computer checks using the date of birth the woman provided for her partner. The results identified that there were no matches.

The woman was contacted to check if the information she provided was correct, which she confirmed. She was informed there were no matches on the police national computer, no concerns and told to contact Wiltshire Police if she became aware of any new information on her partner.

On 15 December 2018, the woman was assaulted by her partner at a hotel and sustained a number of serious injuries. The following day the man was arrested by the police for the assault.

In January 2019 it was established following a review of cases that the woman’s partner did have a documented history of domestic abuse. While the date of birth provided by the woman was incorrect, further checks should have identified the partner.

During the investigation, investigators obtained witness statements, examined policies and incident logs.

Based on the evidence available, we were of the opinion that a member of police staff, a crime recording operator, had a case to answer for misconduct over how they carried out initial checks. The crime recording operator will be given management action and be retrained on how to use the system properly.

A second member of police staff, a domestic abuse specialist researcher, was found to have no case to answer for misconduct over allegations they failed to conduct all the required checks and closed down the application without further action. The researcher should however be re-trained on intelligence system checks.

After reviewing our report and decision document, Wiltshire Police agreed with the outcome.

During our investigation it was identified that there was a significant delay between the force becoming aware of the matter and referring this in to the IOPC. We acknowledged that this was an error and that a process has been put in place to avoid any reoccurrence.

As a result of this incident, Wiltshire Police have proactively updated and amended the DVDS process so that all ‘right to ask’ applications result in a meeting, regardless of an exact Police National Computer match, which allows the DVDS team the opportunity to ask applicants further questions about subjects.

Our investigation began in April 2019 and concluded in January 2020.