Yahoo News Durham Police staff given extra training after death of toddler Maya Chappell
Police officers and staff have been given extra training in a law designed to keep youngsters safe after a toddler was killed by her mum's new partner.
Two-year-old Maya died after suffering severe brain trauma when she was shaken by Michael Daymond at her home in Shotton Colliery, County Durham, in 2022. Daymond was convicted of murdering Maya, while her mum, Dana Carr was found guilty of child cruelty by neglect and allowing the death of a child.
A safeguarding review into the deaths of Maya and three-year-old Dwelanyiah Robinson, who also died in County Durham two months later, was published last week.
Read more: Missed chances to help murdered youngsters Maya Chappell and Dwelaniyah Robinson revealed in report
The Child Safeguarding Practice Review (CSPR) was commissioned by the Durham Safeguarding Children Partnership, highlights missed opportunities where agencies could have stepped in to offer the families of both children early support.
In Maya's case one such occasion came in August 2022 when Maya's father, James Chappell, raised concerns about Carr's relationship with Daymond and asked for police for information about him.
Mr Chappell attempted to use the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS), otherwise known as "Claire's Law” or the Child Sex Offenders Disclosure Scheme, dubbed “Sarah’s Law”, to find out whether his daughter might be at risk while living with Daymond.
However, when police spoke to Carr she told them she was no longer in a relationship with Daymond so no disclosure was made and Mr Chappell's worries were not investigated further.
The report says: "The decision to close the request, based solely on mother’s self-report and no follow-up face-to-face visit, showed a limited understanding of the nature of intimate partner violence and abuse and its impact. It also prevented any further opportunity to collate details about mother’s new partner and assess any risks through a Claire’s Law disclosure."
Following Maya's death Durham Constabulary referred it's handling of Mr Chappell's request to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. And following its investigation the watchdog recommended staff training in this area be improved.
IOPC Regional Director Emily Barry said: “Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of Maya Chappell, and all those affected by her horrific murder. Following a referral from Durham Constabulary in October 2022, we independently investigated police contact with Maya’s family prior to her death in September 2022.
“The investigation, which concluded in April 2023, looked at contact between Maya’s father and the force on two occasions, on August 8 and 9 2022. In relation to the call to police on August 8, we found it was handled appropriately and suitable action taken.
“On August 9 2023, Maya’s father made an application for a disclosure under Sarah’s Law, which allows police to disclose information about a person who has contact with a child, if it is felt they could pose a risk.
“Prior to referring the case to us, Durham Constabulary reviewed the police response to this request and determined it was not dealt with appropriately. The member of staff involved was given management advice to improve their performance in September 2022.
“We spoke to the staff member, who cooperated fully with our investigation and was honest in accepting how they could have handled the situation better.
“We carefully considered all the evidence and found that the shortcomings identified were the result of a lack of knowledge and training, rather than a neglect of duties. As a result, we did not consider the member of staff had any case to answer in relation to their conduct. Instead, we recommended reflective practice to address these issues.
“We shared a number of areas of learning with the force, and recommended action to improve staff training, as well as ensuring policies were up to date and shared with staff.”
Durham Constabulary has today confirmed that all its staff had now been given additional training in Sarah's Law, which is named after murdered eight-year-old Sarah Payne.
A spokesman said: “Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Maya’s family and friends. We referred ourselves to the IOPC and welcomed the findings from their detailed investigation. We are committed to learning from every case and take any recommendations we receive very seriously. Following this case, we carried out our own internal review and subsequently provided additional training to all staff involved with Sarah’s Law applications. These changes reflect the recommendations made by the IOPC.”
Daymond, 27, was jailed for life, while Carr, 24, was found guilty of child cruelty by neglect and allowing the death of a child. She was locked-up for nine years. As the couple stood trial at Teesside Crown Court jurors heard how on September 28, 2022, Carr left her daughter with Daymond while she went to work. Later that day, Daymond contacted his partner to tell her that Maya had collapsed and he rang 999. The youngster had suffered severe brain trauma as well as internal haemorrhaging, and she died in hospital two days later.
The court heard how Daymond, had drug debts and had found out that day that his Universal Credit payment had been stopped the day he shook Maya
Dave Ashton, chair of the Durham Safeguarding Children Partnership, said changes were already being made.
He said: “These are deeply distressing cases resulting in the tragic deaths of two young children, and our thoughts and sympathies are very much with all those who loved and cared for them.
“We are committed to learning from the circumstances of each case and commissioned a joint Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review, led by an independent author, to look at the responses of the agencies involved in detail and identify any themes around learning and practice. The learning arising from the review has been shared across the partnership and we are working together to implement the recommendations.”
