Chief Constable admits the force failed to protect Maria

The Chief Constable of Essex Police has admitted his force failed to protect a woman who was murdered in her home by her ex-partner.

A long list of failings at the hands of the police were read out as the Inquest into the death of Maria Stubbings from Chelmsford came to an end.

Maria who was 50, was murdered by her ex Marc Chivers back in 2008. He'd previously served 15 years in prison in Germany for killing another ex-girlfriend.

Today the Coroner criticised Essex Police, labelling the force's treatment of the case as Inadequate and incompetent and that it contributed to Maria's death.

The inquest found that Maria’s killing was contributed to by a catalogue of failings by Essex Police. These include:

• Failure to undertake a risk assessment and safety plan in October 2008, when Chivers was released from prison
• · Incompetence of Domestic Abuse and Hate Crime Unit (DAHCU), in particular Domestic Abuse Liaison Officers (DALOs)
• · Incompetence of supervisors
• · Inadequate training
• · Ineffective IT systems and lack of communication between intelligence systems
• · Ineffective case management and inability to link incidents
• · Failure of frontline officers to perform basic policing duties, including failure to arrest perpetrator on numerous occasions
• · Significant policy breaches including downgrading Maria’s allegation of burglary without supervisors’ approval and failure to notify other agencies