Police failed ‘silent 999’ murder victim

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An Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation has highlighted a series of errors made by Devon and Cornwall in the way they handled the case of Kerry Power.

In December 2013, the 36-year-old primary school administrative assistant told police she was being stalked by her former partner, bus driver David Wilder.

An officer told her she should make a 999 call if she felt threatened, and that police responded to silent 999 calls.

But police failed to explain the “silent solution” protocol to Ms Power, and when Wilder broke into her house, her 999 call was terminated without a police response.

Wilder murdered Ms Power while her 10-year-old son from a previous relationship lay sleeping upstairs at their home in Crownhill, Plymouth.

Silent solution

Hundreds of thousands of silent 999 calls are made each year and police have been using the “silent solution” protocol for 15 years to help operators filter out accidental calls.

It is also intended to help people who are in danger or need assistance but cannot speak to an operator.

When you call 999 an operator asks you which service you require. If you don’t answer, you are prompted to tap the handset, cough, or make a noise.

You are then given the option to press 55 on the phone’s keypad. If there is no response to any of the prompts, the call is terminated.

No one explained the system to Ms Power, and she appears to have dialled 999 then put the phone down, leaving the call open. It was cut off and police were not sent to her house.

Wilder, who had a history of domestic abuse, had a key cut after Ms Power ended their relationship weeks before the murder.

After drinking heavily, he let himself into the house and went on to strangle Ms Power. He called the police the next morning and admitted killing her.

Wilder was sentenced to life imprisonment by a judge at Taunton Crown Court in 2014.

Channel 4 News has seen a letter written by the coroner in the case to Theresa May – then the Home Secretary.

The letter states: “I write to you as I am concerned that the silent solution system is, in fact, not fit for purpose.

“There does not appear to have been any auditing or monitoring of the effectiveness of the system….This appears to have ramifications for vulnerable persons, particularly women, on a national basis.”

“She was obviously petrified”

In the first interview given by Kerry’s family, her mother Stephanie Power told Channel 4 News she felt police had failed to take the case seriously.

She said: “Although she said before she wasn’t afraid of him; she was really afraid, she was really afraid and that specific evening I think she was obviously petrified.”

“There’s no question about it. That she should have been a high risk person but she wasn’t. And from my point of view the way I look at it is the police didn’t take her seriously enough.”

Ms Power, 67, is now bringing up Kerry’s son.

She said: “He says that he woke up and he thought he heard mummy being sick. And I think that was when she was being strangled.

“And then when he came down in the morning she was laid on the floor dead – and he thought she was asleep.

Should I have done something, Granny? I could have saved Mummy.

“And he says: should I have done something, Granny? I could have saved Mummy.
“And I said: ‘No, darling. There’s no way you could have.’ I could have lost them both.”

The IPCC report concludes that inadequate checks were made on David Wilder’s police record – which showed a history of domestic abuse.

It also highlights a failure by Devon and Cornwall Police to implement proper risk assessments for the victims of stalking.

Police: system is effective

Deputy Chief Constable Alan Todd, the Council Lead for National Contact Management, said: “The national ‘silent solutions’ system enables people to contact the emergency services without speaking by detecting background noise and prompting the caller to press ‘55’ if they want to be directed to police.

“Our steering group has reviewed the system and concluded that it is effective at enabling people who are unable to speak to contact the police while filtering out the huge volumes of accidental 999 calls made every day.

“However, the system is only effective if people understand how it works. The IPCC investigation into the police handling of the murder of Kerry Power demonstrates the tragic consequences of people not knowing how the system works.

“We are now considering how we can best educate the public and police officers about the system to ensure that those at risk of harm get the help they need.”