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The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation into the actions of Northumbria Police prior to the death of Alice Ruggles in Gateshead on 12 October 2016 has concluded with management action and further training for a police constable and a sergeant.

Trimaan Dhillon, her ex-partner, was jailed for life in April last year for her murder. Ms Ruggles, aged 24, had contacted police to report unwanted contact from Dhillon.

Following his trial, the force carried out an Internal Management Review into their contact with Ms Ruggles as part of a wider Domestic Homicide Review. This identified potential misconductby officers. They referred the conduct matters to us in October last year and we completed our investigation in June.

We found evidence of a case to answer for misconduct for a police sergeant (PS) and a police constable (PC), and evidence of unsatisfactory performance by a police constable.

We established that Alice made her first call to the police, via 101, at 12.40am on 1 October 2016 and requested advice from the call-handler regarding Dhillon’s behaviour. She reported a number of incidents of unwanted contact from Dhillon and that she had seen him outside her home.  She was advised that she could report his behaviour as harassment, which she agreed to do. An appointment was made for Northumbria police to visit her the following day. We found details Ms Ruggles gave about Dhillon knocking at her door and a text message confirming he had been outside her home were not recorded by the call-handler.

A PC visited her home for two hours on 2 October and took a statement.  She said that on 20 September she had told Dhillon that she wanted no further contact with him, and since then his actions had scared and terrified her. She also detailed how on 30 September he had brought flowers and chocolates to her home, and left her a voicemail saying that he didn’t want to kill her. Alice provided a Victim Personal Statement to the officer about how Dhillon’s actions were affecting her emotionally.

Dhillon was issued with a Police Information Notice (PIN) for harassment to warn him that, he could be arrested if he contacted Alice again. The PC arranged for a major at Dhillon’s barracks in Edinburgh to issue him with the PIN. National guidance states that this should be done by a police officer in person unless in exceptional circumstances. The supervising police sergeant, stated in interview that they took this decision because it was timelier and would have more impact on Dhillon; we found that this went against the force’s policies.

Alice contacted Northumbria Police again on 7 October 2016 because Dhillon had sent her a letter and photographs. She explained the previous police contact and the PIN. The matter was recorded as a non-emergency breach of a PIN. She was contacted by a new PC who asked if Alice wanted to make a statement and have Dhillon arrested, but she said she didn’t want him to be arrested. This information was logged, but as a new crime. The original PC and PS who were dealing with Alice’s case were not told of the new report. We found that College of Policing guidance states that the decision to arrest a suspect lies with the officer, and they should not ask victims this question. 

The police investigation was ongoing and, other than an email from Alice and a voicemail from an investigating officer, there was no further contact between Alice and Northumbria Police from 8 October until her murder on 12 October.

Our final report further details the actions of Northumbria Police and their contact with Alice Ruggles.

We found evidence of a case to answer for misconduct for a police constable for failure to appropriately investigate the report of Dhillon’s stalking, and a failure to comply with the force’s own stalking and harassment procedures. We found a case to answer for misconduct for the police sergeant for not properly supervising the constable during the investigation. After Northumbria Police agreed with our findings, both officers were dealt with via management action in the form of words of advice, and further training to develop their awareness when dealing with stalking and harassment. 

In addition, we found evidence of unsatisfactory performance for the PC who was in contact with Alice on 7 October for failing to appropriately investigate and take positive action following Alice’s report. The officer has since received advice on how to deal with domestic incidents via a victim-focused rather than a victim-led approach. Our investigation also looked at the actions of the call-handler who took a call from Ms Ruggles, but this person had left the force before our investigation began.

IOPC Regional Director Miranda Biddle: “Our thoughts have remained with Alice’s family during our investigation. Their ongoing efforts to highlight the dangers of stalking, via the Alice Ruggles Trust, is testament to their strength and positivity in the face of such a tragic and needless loss. Throughout our investigation they have demonstrated great patience and understanding with a clear commitment to ensuring that lessons are learnt. I am grateful for their support to our investigation during their loss.

“I have offered our support to the Trust; anything we can do to assist in ensuring better understanding of the very serious crime of stalking and improving public confidence in how it is dealt with is of the utmost importance.

“We gave much consideration to this case before deciding to conduct an investigation. Away from the legal requirement for this investigation, we recognised the impact this could have on Alice’s family, those who knew her, and the police officers involved. Our police force liaison team met with Northumbria Police to discuss the outcome of the Domestic Homicide and Internal Management Reviews. Conduct matters, beyond those found in their localinvestigation, were highlighted which clearly required independent scrutiny. I would like to acknowledge our lead investigator for concluding this case as soon as possible, and to Northumbria Police for completing the misconduct and performance matters at the earliest opportunity.”