UK police warned before the killing of nine women | BBC Newsnight

West Yorkshire Police knew of nine women who had fears for their safety before they were killed by a man they knew, BBC Newsnight has found.

In two of the killings, the police did not conduct proper risk assessments when the women had reported domestic abuse to the force.

The police said it has “implemented recommendations” and provided domestic abuse training to staff since the deaths of the women.

BBC Newsnight’s Yasminara Khan has been investigating what happened.

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Huddersfield September 2019 a 21-year-old University student has been violently stabbed multiple times in broad daylight I noticed two Miss calls from Bethany’s father I knew instantly there’s something I miss so I phoned him up straight away my first words were is Bethany okay he said I can’t tell you

That I asked him where he was it’s home made down at Ellen Road police station we got inside this this room and I looked and I saw bethan his father absolutely in bits totally distraught and I kept saying to this this guy just tell me she’s okay and then he said the words

That no parent ever wants to hear and should have to hear she didn’t survive her injuries and straight away I said it’s that Paul grow and then nodded and I said she came to you for help and they just put their heads down I died in that moment I

Died the killer Paul Crowther Bethany’s former boyfriend was arrested in less than an hour after a short car chase Crowder was well known to the police over the previous seven years he had been arrested nine times under the mental health act but was never sectioned despite being the name suspect

In domestic incidents with two different previous partners and had been served with a restraining order four years previously two days the coast Coast night cycle practice his victim Bethany fields and three other people had made complaints about his threats to harm or kill others in the four weeks before she

Was killed BBC News night is aware that Bethany was at least one of nine women who were killed by a partner ex partner or a relative after they or a third party went to West yorshire Police regarding the perpetrator between 2019 and 2023 and in some of the cases the abuser

Was known to the police experts say that the police amongst other things didn’t undertake risk assessments properly and families have told us that had the police responded appropriately these women might still be alive today in the case of the killing of Bethany Fields the police refer themselves to the independent office for police

Conduct who found a number of failings including staff shortages a failure to properly use police intelligence to join the dots a failure to recognize that a serious crime of stalking and or coercive control had been potentially committed which could have led to an arrest and a failure to properly

Complete a risk assessment which would have categorized Bethany as high risk the police Watchdog inquiry also found that the officer who had been left to look after the case was a probationary officer who had only been working without direct supervision for a period of two weeks it needed a senior officer but my

Daughter put her trust her life in their hands as far as I’m concerned they failed my daughter West yire Police failed my daughter Professor Jane monton Smith is a forensics expert who has researched and written extensively on interpersonal violence and has advised a number of police forces including West

Yorkshire people don’t always make death threats to each other that’s not a normal part of a relationship we know that in risk assessment all of the research is telling us that somebody starts talking about death in response to a a separation or a breakup that is potentially homicidal ideation you

Need to use that information as well to inform your risk assessment and if they’re not doing that then that’s a real problem with the training if the risk assessment process itself isn’t effective it could be much worse than a waste of time it could actually put that person in more

Danger Bethany’s family are not alone in saying West yorshire police let their daughter down last year newsight spoke with Yasmin Javid whose daughter FIA was murdered on a trip to Edinburgh when her partner pushed her off a cliff on Arthur’s seat killing her and her unborn

Child he was convicted of her murder and later tried to appeal a sentence which was rejected Foria like Bethany had reported domestic abuse to West Yorkshire police in her case twice once in April 2021 1 and six days before she was killed in September the first time around that the

Police came to see foosia um they told FIA that she was medium risk and then shortly after that they reassessed her and uh regraded to high risk and that was information that was never communicated to Folia or myself um which obviously would have made a big difference because FIA went back

Thinking I’ll be fine the second time round the police officer that um came to take a statement from Folia she never communicated to foosia that now that she was going to leave the abuser she was at high risk and also the fact that she was pregnant she was at high risk had all

This information been communicated to fos there is no way that FIA would have gone on that trip to edinb she was sensible she was sensible and she would have taken that on board she would never have put her life and her baby’s life at risk how does this all make you

Feel really angry really upset F’s death could have been prevented I’ve lost my only child and her baby in horrific circumstances that’s something you’ll never get over today F’s baby would have been 2 years old an innocent life he never got to live West Yorkshire police told BBC News

Night the circumstances prior to the murder of Foria Javid including the reports of domestic abuse that she made to West Yorkshire police are the subject of an ongoing domestic homicide review I think there were opportunities to prevent the deaths of FIA and Bethany and it wasn’t necessarily simply through

The safeguarding of those two women but the management of those two men Karma Nana a charity based in West Yorkshire that deals with honor-based abuse has taken part in three domestic homicide reviews including the current inquiry into Foria Javid we see a repeat of key recommendations coming up time

And time again of things that we need to do which you know by the time you’re in your third domestic homicide review you’re questioning why is the coming up as a recommendation West Yorkshire police told this program West Yorkshire police safe guarding governance have worked closely with kmen Avana over the

Last two years the force has also been working with Professor Jan monton Smith in delivering conference and training courses around the E stages of domestic homicide West Yorkshire domestic abuse policy identifies threats to kill a previous history of domestic abuse and a history of mental heart and suicide as

Warning markers which should result in a high risk assessment Bethany was assessed as being at medium risk just over two weeks before she was killed Bethany contacted police again about Paul Crowther who had been reported missing in a telephone call recorded and handed to the police Watchdog the iopc

She said in all honesty he should have been sectioned a long time ago now in the last few months the amount of times I’ve spoken to the police when he has tried killing himself the amount of death threats he’s made West Yorkshire police told BBC News night as a result

Of both a domestic homicide review and the iopc investigation conducted following Bethany’s murder West yorshire Police has accepted and implemented all recommendations raised through these reports when Bethany’s killer finally fac Justice he was given a manslaughter conviction for diminished responsibility and the judge ordered him to be detained

In hospital as part of his minimum sentence of 12 years no way should have ever have been man slaughter it was premeditated murder is evil pure evil Wicked a master manipulator and a very very very dangerous man who should never ever be released never West Yorkshire police in their

Statement told this program our sympathies go out to the families of Bethany fields and Foria Javid for the devastating and tragic losses they have suffered during summer 2023 the force trained 3,250 Frontline officers and staff in the domestic abuse matters training the police Watchdog concluded that despite a catalog of errors and

Oversights it was impossible to say whether in Bethany’s case the tragic outcome could have been avoided but the families of the victims in West Yorkshire are still asking why were keyw warning signs overlooked and why couldn’t the police Act