Can you sue the police for failing to act?

peachyprice

shell_girl wrote: »

people experiencing domestic abuse tend to minimise and under report what is happening to them, not exaggerate it.

I think that's the point others are getting at.

sock-knitter

i've suffered domestic violence, and the police were very helpful, i have trouble believing they were called out so many times and did nothing. was there no marks on the woman, signs of injury, cps usually use that as evidence

BugglyB

The police have a responsibility to do certain things -

- act according to their own domestic violence policy, which may include things like removing the perpetrator from the property or referring to specialist DV police units, or referring on to victim support or specialist DV services

- take the victim seriously and not make flippant comments

- make every effort to gather necessary evidence to prosecute

What they can't do is force the crown prosecution service to take the matter to court, and they can't force people to give evidence against their partner. If CPS say they cant prosecute then theres nothing the police can do - they're back to square one.

If you think they've failed on the first three, then you have grounds to complain, if you're angry he's not locked up, often its not the police that make that decision.

Mupette

The police failed me when i needed them the most.

I was told that the DV i was having thrown at me was just a lovers tiff..

The ex beating me up on the door step, spitting in my face, the swearing.. 10 years of abuse mentaly and physically.

The ex would run off and they would stop looking for him.

when i finally got the non molest order he did actually take notice of what was happening...

sassyblue

I think you should complain, 'make some noise', someone with violent tendancies like that shouldn't be in the specials.

Good luck.

Kay_Peel

This case seems extremely odd. In my Force area the complainant's address would be flagged up immediately as a priority due to repeat calls with domestic violence history, and after the officer has attended, the case would go to a Domestic Violence Officer.

When the CPS say that they can't proceed with assault and damages charges 'due to lack of evidence', it usually means that the victim is unwilling to support a prosecution. But even then, the arrested person would go to court for a bind over after breaching the peace.

Very, very odd.

Catty212

Im sure there's more to this story than has been posted.

If the Police have been called out 26 times then it wouldn't be the same OIC in each instance. DV is taken very seriously in the force I work for. If the complainant refused to press charges (it happens so much) then there it is likely that it wouldn't go much further, as CPS aren't fans of taking things to court when there's a lack of evidence. I understand it may not have gone to court but it certainly would have had SOP's on the address etc from a Police point of view and there'd be markers on the address. In my area it's usually considered and immediate or priority response and a reminder for officers to carry headcams etc in case there's a chance suspect can be prosecuted without the Ips help and cooperation.

I think maybe you 'friend' isn't telling the whole truth.

Catty212

Kay_Peel wrote: »

This case seems extremely odd. In my Force area the complainant's address would be flagged up immediately as a priority due to repeat calls with domestic violence history, and after the officer has attended, the case would go to a Domestic Violence Officer.

When the CPS say that they can't proceed with assault and damages charges 'due to lack of evidence', it usually means that the victim is unwilling to support a prosecution. But even then, the arrested person would go to court for a bind over after breaching the peace.

Very, very odd.

Sorry. I've just read your post and realised I've pretty much re writen you're post! Great minds and all that

Lady_Aga

Ravenlady wrote: »

3.5 years ago a person who I am close to had a very nasty relationship break up, the police were called on many occasions due to domestic violence towards the end of the relationship but failed to act. At one point a police officer insinuated to her that she should stop calling the police as its common for this type of shenanigans to occur during a split.

The ex smashed up the house (then joint tennants)
made threats to kill
assaulted and injured his ex on many occasions (how many times did the victim retract her statement and take him back?)
stole property
Cleared out all bank accounts either joint or in sole name of his ex
assaulted a pregnant friend of his ex by pushing her out of a moving car
stole his ex's car and sold it (stolen by force but log book mysteriously happened to be in his name when it was first in his ex partners name)
Is the prime suspect of smashing all the windows on her replacement car multiple times.
Entering ex's property at will or by force

Today my friend had another altercation with her ex over some property of her daughters that he had admitted taking but refused to give back, she phoned the non urgent police number to try and chase it up and after they had waded through 26 call out reports they concluded that it is a civil matter (this matter was reported earlier this year)

She is going to see a solicitor tomorrow as the police have washed their hands of it but is thinking about asking if anything can be done about the other events that the police have failed to act on, I know a lot of women do cry wolf which is the way the police saw it but it has really affected her. She is not the same person she used to be and is constantly on edge knowing that he has effectivly got away with everything.

They have a son together so she still has to see him and still ends up getting bullied and harassed on a weekly basis.

What I am really asking is does she have a cat in hells chance in getting any justice for what has happened to her or is she wasting her time.

Can the police really be held accountable for their failure??

I also get the feeling that this is not the whole story. That the victim should seek advice from a specialist women's domestic abuse agency.

If the suspect had committed as many offences as is described then he would certainly have had a few custodial sentences.

It seems like the victim keeps taking the suspect back, because she loves him, and he is only needs to stop drinking/smoking weed/go on anger management etc/whatever and he will change.

It certainly would not be a civil issue. Some serious crimes have ben committed. The victim would most certainly have had their phone number flagged as important by the police. If the victim rings, the police comes running.

I need some more facts.

Lady_Aga

If you do not wish to see the father of your child then there are contact centres or relatives that can assist during the time when the child sees their father.