Two people have been harmed by Wiltshire Police failures.

The force referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) in October after it emerged as many as 3,500 people, mostly women, might have been given wrong information regarding disclosures made under Clare's Law.

This led to an urgent assessment of all 3,582 applications made to Wiltshire Police between April 2015 and August 2023 under the disclosure scheme (known as Clare’s Law).

Having completed risk assessments, the force has now confirmed that 25 failures were found in the service.

"Of this, we know of two failures which have resulted in people being harmed," a spokesperson said.

One member of police staff who is believed to have been involved remains suspended, and the IOPC will continue its independent investigation into Wiltshire Police.

“This is a catastrophic service failure,” said Chief Constable Catherine Roper.

“We let many people down and we now know that our failures may have contributed to at least two people being harmed.

“I am so sorry – I remain appalled that this ever happened and it rightly sent shockwaves throughout our organisation,” she added.

In addition to the two critical failures which led to people being harmed, 11 administrative failures and 12 service failures were also found.

This means that information which should have been disclosed was not, and inadequate research was done.

Wiltshire Police has now made a total of four referrals to the IOPC, and say they are determined to put things right.

“From the moment this came to light, I ensured dedicated resources were put in place to work around the clock to understand where we are failed, who might be at risk as a result of these failures and the urgent action we needed to take,” added Chief Constable Roper.

“The completion of 3,582 risk assessments reassures me that we are now able to identify the people who require our immediate support.

“However, I appreciate that this is completion of work which our communities rightly expected us to have done properly the first time around.

“I know we have badly let you down, but I ask again for your trust and urge you to come forward if you have any concerns or information regarding people at risk of domestic abuse.”