Report raises concerns over police handling of abuse cases

Women who have been victims of stalking or domestic violence told a charity they had been let down by the police

A charity that handles domestic abuse and stalking cases has said women involved are frequently being failed by Devon and Cornwall Police.

Citizens Advice Cornwall (CAC) has produced a report based on the experiences of 36 women who have contacted them with concerns.

They include allegations of poor communication, a lack of empathy and failures to address safety issues.

The force said it took the concerns "extremely seriously".

Among recommendations from the CAC report is the forming of a new dedicated women's protection unit within the police force.

All of the women involved had contacted the charity with concerns about the way their case had been handled since February 2022.

The BBC has spoken to two women who have been supported by the charity in connection with stalking allegations.

Both cases involve incidents they say they have been reporting to the police over the last three years - the women have not been named to protect their identities.

'Wasn't taken seriously'

The first woman said she told officers she feared she would be killed by her stalker.

She said police told her it wasn't in the public interest to pursue her case and wrote to her doctor suggesting "increasing her [anti-depressant] to a level that results in her being able to make calm and rational decisions".

She said she was being followed every time she left her house: "It just got worse and worse and worse, I was totally locked in my home. I would present all of this to the police - links and screen shots and I was told it wasn't in the public interest to pursue [a prosecution]".

The woman, who lives in Cornwall and is in her 40s, said Devon and Cornwall Police told her they would not be investigating her case any further.

"It just wasn't taken seriously. Like I was some sort of drama queen and I wanted all this to happen," she said.

'I was just a number'

A second woman, also in her 40s, told the BBC she was given 21 crime reference numbers over 18 months and her stalker was arrested several times, but no further action was taken by police until CAC got involved.

She said: "It was almost like they were waiting for something bad to happen, for them to do something.

"My friends are worried, my family's worried, my kids are worried. The only people that didn't seem worried were the police, but they obviously didn't think it was a big deal - it was a big deal to me."

She added: "The police made me feel like I didn't matter and I was just a number. And I was just maybe a bit of a pain… so you get to the point where you think 'what's the point'."

Issues identified in the CAC report include:

• People not being called back when reporting allegations of stalking or threats of violence.

• Failure to examine CCTV evidence

• Lack of appropriate safety assessments

• Lack of equipment (such as CCTV cameras) to deter attackers

New officers

In a statement a spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said tackling domestic abuse and stalking "remain priorities" for the force.

The force said it had dedicated domestic abuse teams, with 52 new officers working in this area.

The spokesperson added that victims of stalking can now be referred to independent stalking caseworkers.

Police said they took these concerns "extremely seriously" and officers would digest the report to see what learning could be adopted.

Allison Livingstone from Citizens Advice Cornwall said clients often don't feel supported by the police

CAC victims of crime adviser, Allison Livingstone, said: "Victims have told us they will end up dead or seriously injured or their perpetrators will move on to other relationships and will hopefully leave them alone, although this also causes huge anguish about what the next woman will go through and a misplaced feeling of responsibility to try and prevent this.

"What they don't tell us - what no client has ever said - is they believe justice will be done and those accused will be charged, tried, and punished for these crimes and the unrelenting fear and distress that has been caused."

CAC interim chief executive, Jon Berg, said: "We know Devon and Cornwall Police, like many forces up and down the country, are under a great deal of pressure through lack of resources, but we hope speaking out on behalf of our clients will result in concrete steps to improve matters for some of the most vulnerable people in society."

Key recommendations from the report are:

• Improved officer training in recognising and managing trauma responses in victims and witnesses

• Monitoring appropriate language used with victims through bodycam footage

• Creation of a single point of contact which victims and organisations supporting victims, can access to report new information and to get updates

The CAC report said its clients are often told to call 101 which can have wait times in excess of two hours and doesn't always result in a call back.

It also said clients have struggled to find out who is leading on their investigation.

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