Police accused of 'victim-blaming' over care abuse caught on camera

Police forces have been accused of "victim-blaming" over the abuse of residents at care homes, and "gaslighting" families looking for answers.

Dementia patient Ann King was abused for months at Signature at Reigate Grange care home in Surrey but, despite hours of distressing footage obtained from a hidden camera, local police decided there was insufficient evidence to arrest anyone.

Instead, her family say Surrey Police Chief Constable Tim De Meyer has sought to blame the vulnerable 88-year-old for what happened to her - claiming she was actually abusive to staff.

The family is now campaigning for a law-change to help ensure no-one else goes through what their mum did, and Ann's local MP, Liberal Democrats Leader Sir Ed Davey, says he is "absolutely determined" to make that happen.

Harrowing undercover footage but no arrests

Ann's son Richard suspected something was amiss with his mum's care at Reigate Grange care home so installed a hidden camera near her bed - the footage brought him to tears.

The footage revealed a harrowing catalogue of abuse - she was mocked, teased, and manhandled - at a care home charging £8,000 a month to look after her.

Staff made lewd gestures, flickered light switches to confuse her, and left her struggling on the floor for nearly an hour.

Reigate Grange told ITV News it was an "isolated incident", police were "immediately" informed and the individuals involved had been "removed" from the home.

Surrey Police investigated but no-one was charged with committing a crime.

ITV News discovered through Freedom of Information requests last year they were far from alone. Just 1% of allegations of abuse or neglect at care homes result in police bringing charges.

Desperate to find out why, Ann's son Richard Last drafted in the help of his local MP, Conservative Crispin Blunt, who asked Surrey Police for an explanation.

To Richard's astonishment, Chief Constable De Meyer said in a letter to the MP the footage was reviewed but the behaviours displayed by staff "do not meet the threshold for assault, or wilful neglect".

More upsettingly, Richard and his sister Clare Miller say he tried to blame their mum for what happened to her.

Watch Ann's horrifying experience at Reigate Grange care home

Police accused of 'victim blaming'

Clare said reading the chief constable's letter to the MP "instantly brought me to tears".

In it, the senior police officer said there were "clear indications" in the care notes of elderly dementia patient Ann "acting verbally and physically aggressive to others".

"Whilst this does not justify the poor physical contact, staff would rightly claim they are not in work to be assaulted.

"Numerous people reference difficulties from the family of AK [Ann King] on a constant basis and feeling intimidated by them."

Clare was aghast. "How can he blame my mum for what happened to her?" she asked.

"She was vulnerable, had dementia, and was helpless. To victim-blame her rather than try to address what's wrong is unbelievable," she told ITV News.

Richard insisted his mum was not aggressive to staff. "And even if she was, how is that relevant to her being abused? She had dementia, was helpless, and let along physically assaulting her, staff were even teasing her as she begged for assistance.

"If she was ever difficult, that's because they'd been abusing her for months."

Surrey Police deny victim blaming and told ITV News Ann's alleged behaviour was only "referenced to acknowledge there were occasions when staff were required to have physical contact with her, however it is made very clear in the letter that this requirement ‘does not justify the poor physical contact'."

Former Care Quality Commission inspector accuses police of 'gaslighting'

A former Care Quality Commission (CQC) employee, who believes her own mum was abused at a care home, told ITV News she's aware of countless other people in a similar situation.

Denise Charlesworth-Smith was a member of the CQC's care inspection team before quitting because she did not believe enough was being done to protect the vulnerable.

She's accused Nottinghamshire Police of "gaslighting" her when explaining its investigation into the death of her mother Jeanette Charlesworth.

Despite a medical examiner saying it was "entirely likely" a decline in her health was down to neglect at the care home, Nottinghamshire Police said it was unable to find any evidence.

She believes the investigating officers took the care notes written by staff as fact, rather than scrutinising their evidence.

Denise said she'd discovered large bruises all over her mother's body during her stay at the care home, but police "couldn't be bothered to do a proper investigation".

Nottinghamshire Police said: “Following extensive inquiries, we were unable to find any evidence of wilful neglect provided by the care home in question.

“As a result, they were not found to have a criminal case to answer in relation to the death of Mrs Charlesworth, who the coroner ruled had passed away as a result of natural causes.

“We’ve been in regular contact with the family throughout all stages of our investigation, and would once again like to express our sincere condolences to them for their loss.”

'Ann's Law': A campaign to change the care sector

Ann's children Clare and Richard were baffled by the lack of charges made by police, despite them being passed substantial evidence.

They've told ITV News they've seen cases where people have been sent to jail for behaviour they believe is just as bad as what happened to their mum.

Four care workers were jailed last year after a hidden camera revealed an 89-year-old resident had been "roughly handled, hit with a pillow, and treated with and utmost lack of dignity and respect."

"How can one force in one part of the country decide that's enough evidence to charge, and a judge can send them to jail, but another can see our footage and not even arrest anyone," said Clare.

So she and Richard are campaigning to create 'Ann's Law', which would make care home abuse and neglect a specific offence and give officers better guidance on how to investigate such crimes.

Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey, who is the care home's local MP and has been working with Ann's family in their campaign, said police "haven’t taken the evidence seriously enough".

On their calls for a law change, Sir Ed told ITV News he is "determined to work with the family to achieve justice and make sure wider lessons are learnt so that no family has to go through this horrifying situation again".

Have you heard our podcast Talking Politics? Every week Tom, Robert and Anushka dig into the biggest issues dominating the political agenda…

Just 1% of allegations of abuse at care homes result in charges

Last July, ITV News learned from Freedom of information (FOI) requests to police forces in England and Wales that allegations of abuse or neglect at care homes had a charge rate of just 1.4%.

The 16 forces which responded told us they had received 1,080 allegations in 2022 - but just 16 charges were made.

And the problem is likely to be much more widespread, given the majority of the 43 forces in England and Wales said they were unable to respond to our request for information.

The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), which represents forces in England and Wales, insisted any report of abuse is taken "incredibly seriously".

NPCC lead for adults at risk, Chief Superintendent Jim Gale, told ITV News forces work closely with agencies including the Care Quality Commission and local authorities to "consider issues raised by safeguarding leads and identify best practice".

He said police are "considering how this can be improved" and "looking at innovative ways" to protect adults at risk at an earlier stage before criminal offences are committed.

Mr Gale added: "A criminal charge is not the only potential outcome of an investigation, with out of court disposals or the use of barred lists also used where appropriate.

"Officers take into consideration all circumstances of a case, with victims' wishes at the centre of our decision-making.

"We will continue to work closely with our partners to improve our joint response to this area of vulnerability."