Georgina Gharsallah: Sussex Police refers itself to watchdog

Georgina Gharsallah has been missing since 7 March 2018

A police force which admitted failings during its investigation into a woman's disappearance has referred itself to the police watchdog.

Georgina Gharsallah was last seen in Worthing, West Sussex, in March 2018. A murder inquiry began in August 2019.

Sussex Police has been accused of "significant failings" over the way it handled the disappearance of the 30-year-old, who has never been found.

The Independent Office of Police Conduct will now look into the case.

An IOPC spokesman confirmed the watchdog had received a voluntary complaint referral from Sussex Police in connection with the disappearance of Ms Gharsallah.

He said: "In order to fully assess the complaint referral, the IOPC has requested additional documentation from Sussex Police.

"Once we have received the extra information, we will then thoroughly assess all the material in order to determine the level, if any, of our involvement."

The last sighting of Georgina Gharsallah on the day she vanished was at a mobile phone shop

Key CCTV footage was not reviewed for more than a year, while nine "potentially" significant sections of footage were lost, the family have said.

Sussex Police admitted there had been "significant missed opportunities" in the way CCTV evidence was handled, which had resulted in some footage being "lost to the investigation".

It was "impossible to say, with any certainty, whether or not this would have made a tangible difference to the progress of the investigation," a force spokesman said.

An investigation by Sussex Police's major crimes unit continues.

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