A history of violence (From The Northern Echo)

A history of violence

4:03pm Monday 30th January 2012 in Leader

Dr Ruth Lewis asks why police are failing so many victims of domestic violence when the offence can escalate and lead to murder.

AWARENESS of domestic violence is now so great that it can seem a mundane, everyday aspect of modern life. Only 50 years ago, it was hidden, surrounded in stigma and rarely spoken of.

Now it is portrayed in soap operas and films, is described in first-hand accounts in books and magazines, and is the focus of public education campaigns.

But has this apparent familiarity made it seem less serious than it is?

As a society, we’ve significantly improved our understanding and response to domestic violence in the past 50 years, even if the frequency of the problem hasn’t reduced.

But cases like that of Michael Atherton can shatter any complacency we may have.

When I heard about Atherton murdering his partner, Susan McGoldrick, her sister, Alison Turnbull, and her niece, Tanya Turnbull, and then turning his gun on himself, I anticipated that we’d shortly hear that he had been violent to his partner.

After all, the overwhelming majority of the 100 or so men who kill their women partners or ex-partners each year in the UK were violent to them previously.

So it was with a heavy heart I subsequently heard that four incidents of domestic violence had been logged with Durham Police in the space of two years, with officers arresting Atherton twice.

Typically, such incidents reported to the police are just the tip of the iceberg.

The police receive a call for assistance for domestic violence every minute in the UK, but fewer than a quarter of incidents are reported.

It is figures like these that have made police forces, Government and domestic violence experts intent on improving the police response when victims do complain.

Every aspect has now been examined and improved from the initial 999 call, the recording of information and the collecting of evidence, as well as the support given to victims themselves.

Meanwhile, domestic violence units staffed by specialist officers and domestic violence policies are now the norm.

Despite these important improvements, the police still fail many victims. Since 2008, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has reported serious failings in police handling of domestic violence cases involving 11 women murdered by violent partners or expartners.

For example, Casey Brittle, who was murdered in October 2010 by her ex-partner, “was significantly let down by systemic failures within Nottinghamshire Police”, according to an IPCC report.

Although her partner did not have previous convictions for violence against her, the police knew he was violent to her as they had been called a number of times.

The IPCC revealed a litany of errors in the police response. This included a failure on four occasions to refer the case to the force’s domestic abuse unit, failure to complete risk assessments that would have triggered a higher level response and failure to follow child protection procedure.

IN addition, reported incidents were downgraded on two occasions, resulting in a lower level response by officers.

Things were no better for Clare Wood. She was murdered in February 2009 by her ex-partner, George Appleton, who then hanged himself.

Appleton was known to have a history of violence towards not just his victim, but also towards his previous partners.

The resultant IPCC investigation said that members of Greater Manchester Police showed a “shocking lack of understanding about the nature of domestic violence”.

As a result, delayed, incomplete and inaccurate information was passed to the Crown Prosecution Service and records were not updated so officers did not have vital information about the case.

Also, no risk assessment that could have led to a higher level response was carried out.

But, more worrying is that firstly, having received a 999 call, the police response was delayed 26 times, so officers did not attend until more than 24 hours later.

Secondly, an officer considered threats made by Appleton to his partner to burn down her house and have her stabbed were “throw away comments made in the heat of an argument”.

These and other IPCC reports reveal similar routine errors, failures to fulfil police policy and to take violence and threats against victims seriously.

We know the most dangerous time for victims is when they leave their violent abuser.

Police forces must be alert to the increased risk when they escape abuse.

Victims should be able to expect police protection when they try to start a life free of violence for themselves and their children.

Despite years of progress, the police are still failing to protect many women. Too many people, in the police and in wider society, do not treat domestic violence as the potentially lethal risk it is.

Too often small decisions, actions and inactions have huge consequences.

We will find out if this is the case for Michael Atherton’s victims and, similarly, if routine errors meant he was allowed to hold lethal weapons despite his history of abuse and threats to others and to himself.

Durham Police have voluntarily referred the case to the IPCC, which will produce a report in due course.

The force could join other forces around the country that have been found seriously wanting in their treatment of domestic violence victims and the perpetrators.

How many more murders will it take for the police to get their house in order?

• Dr Ruth Lewis is a senior lecturer in sociology at Northumbria University and has extensively researched the issue of violence against women, in particular lethal violence.