A police force which was repeatedly in contact with the killers of a nine-year-old boy who was assaulted, beaten and murdered in the family home did not sufficiently train officers to identify child abuse, a watchdog has found.
Alfie Steele, of Droitwich, Worcestershire, died in February 2021 after months of “indescribable” cruelty in which he suffered 50 injuries all over his body and his head was held underwater in a bath.
The boy’s mother, Carla Scott, was jailed for 27 years for manslaughter at Coventry Crown Court in June 2023 and her partner, Dirk Howell, is serving at least 32 years for his murder.
A mandatory referral was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) after the court case finished.
The watchdog looked at 20 interactions between West Mercia Police and Alfie, his mother and her partner between March 2018 and February 2021 but found that there was “no indication of misconduct” by any individual officer.
There had been a “significant amount of contact” with the force in the years before the youngster died, but the family home had a “climate of fear” which meant Alfie was allegedly asleep during the occasions the police were called to the property, the watchdog said.
The IOPC added that Alfie’s voice was “never heard by police” because his mother answered questions on his behalf.
It found that a different police officer or police community support officer (PCSO) attended on each occasion and Alfie was never spoken to by any officer on his own.
On one occasion, six months before Alfie was murdered, a neighbour rang police because they could hear a man shouting and someone “thrashing around in the bath”, and said: “Maybe he’s being hit and held under the water”.
Two officers checked on Alfie, who appeared to be asleep in his room, after this incident. They did not have police powers to remove Howell from the home despite concerns, so they contacted children’s services the next day.
An officer recorded that random safeguarding visits would be beneficial, but there is no evidence these took place, the IOPC said.
The watchdog said West Mercia Police has implemented its recommendations, such as using warning markers to highlight that a child is part of a child protection plan, and reviewing policies around making referrals to children’s services.
The force has also “trained hundreds more officers” to ensure children have a voice, the IOPC said.
The watchdog found no indication of misconduct but has recommended that 10 individuals should take part in “reflective practice” to review their interactions.
IOPC director Derrick Campbell said in a statement: “First and foremost, my thoughts and sympathies remain with Alfie’s family and everyone affected by his tragic and shocking death.
“Our investigation has been painstakingly thorough, examining hundreds of documents, spanning the years that West Mercia Police had contact with Alfie, his mother and her partner.
“It is important to note that in most of the incidents, officers did take some positive action and children’s services were appropriately made aware of every single police attendance. Many other concerns, not shared with the police, were dealt with at local authority level.
“We found no indication of misconduct by any individual officer, but we recommended that eight police constables and two PCSOs undertake reflective practice to review how they handled interactions concerning Alfie.
“In our view, when called to the home, officers should have found a way to speak to Alfie without other adults being present, in line with best practice. On some occasions officers lacked professional curiosity and could have undertaken further inquiries.
“There was a culture of fear within the household which, when coupled with lockdown, severely reduced Alfie’s world. There were few opportunities for Alfie to feel safe enough to make a disclosure to professionals about what was happening within the family home.
“Carla Scott contributed greatly by failing to safeguard him and failing to put his safety and wellbeing before her loyalty to her partner.
“In that cruel environment, Alfie appears to have had to adopt extreme compliance, evidenced by him being in bed allegedly asleep on many of the occasions the police were called, sometimes within a short time of a reported incident.
“It is reassuring that West Mercia Police have committed to ensuring that everyone who works in the force knows Alfie’s story.
“We have been advised that since we began our investigation, the force has trained hundreds more officers in relation to ensuring that children do have a voice regarding any report about the welfare of a child.”
In a statement, Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Jones, of West Mercia Police, said: “The loss Alfie’s family has experienced is immeasurable and we continue to extend our deepest condolences to those who knew him and will forever miss him.
“Alfie died after he was inflicted with indescribable abuse at the hands of his mother and her partner and both are now serving considerable prison sentences for his death.
“The death of a child in such horrific circumstances is abhorrent and in the immediate aftermath of Alfie’s death we carried out a review. This led to significant changes and training put in place for our frontline officers and staff to ensure the signs of child abuse and vulnerability are fully understood.
“To ensure an independent assessment and that appropriate scrutiny was applied, in June 2023, we referred our contact with the family prior to Alfie’s death to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
“It is essential we do everything within our powers to keep children safe, and that our communities have faith that we will do everything to keep children safe. There is no doubt protecting children is one of the most important things we do.
“Since then, we have extended this training to raise awareness to all officers and staff the importance to capture the voice of the child – using professional curiosity to speak and listen to children and understand their fears and concerns. Or what they don’t say.
“It has been our mission to share Alfie’s story with our entire workforce to highlight the importance of this and how vital it is we get it right. We must put safeguards in place to make sure no child ever suffers like that again.
“It is with the greatest sadness we will never be able to undo the dreadful abuse Alfie suffered and our thoughts remain with his family, friends and loved ones.”
