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The Commissioner Designate for Victims of Crime, Geraldine Hanna, has said the review into the Katie Simpson investigation is a shocking catalogue of failings which will rock the confidence of all victims of crime.
“Women and girls deserve a justice system and safeguarding network that is alert to risk, responds to warning signs and acts decisively.”
While welcoming the independent review by Dr. Jan Melia, and the recommendations and commitment to a co-ordinated implementation, the Commissioner stressed that the review must be a turning point:
“Many of the issues identified in this report continue to be raised in more recent Domestic Homicide Reviews which suggests we are still not learning lessons quickly or consistently enough. It is not sufficient to express regret, there must be clear accountability across all agencies for progress and that work must be transparent, time bound and measurable. Coercive control must be treated as a serious risk indicator and potentially lethal form of abuse.
“Ultimately, my thoughts today are with Katie’s family and friends who will continue to carry the consequences of her death for the rest of their lives. For their sakes, and for the sake of public and victim confidence in our justice and safeguarding systems, it is essential that meaningful change is made by our police and our Health Trusts. Those changes should be transparent to the public and monitored to ensure that they are effecting the required cultural change to ensure something like this is never able to happen again. No family should ever have to hear again that an investigation into their loved one’s death was driven by premature assumptions, complacency, and institutional misogyny.”