A violent serial attacker with a history of assaulting multiple women was hired as a parcel delivery driver.
David Kerr boasted of delivering 135 parcels a day to homes despite a series of convictions, including for strangling a woman until she passed out.
Yesterday, we exposed how Kerr benefited from critical flaws in the justice system which allow serial attackers the freedom to criss-cross the UK brutalising women.
Predators like Kerr get delivery jobs because there is no legal requirement for background checks by employers.
A disjointed approach between justice agencies already led to a failure to identify Kerr as a serial predator, despite a 10-year pattern of potentially fatal attacks.
And with no monitoring by justice services, Kerr was delivering to homes with access to mobile numbers and addresses.
Kerr, from Paisley, has been handed a series of paltry punishments including community service, alcohol and anger management classes and fines.
He moved without restriction between Scotland and Wales, changing his name and taking advantage of a failure to track the criminal histories of serial domestic abusers.
Criminals like Kerr can easily slip through the net and lie to employers who fail to do checks.
In this case the company he worked for did act responsibly but he was working for them for two weeks before results of a disclosure check came through and they then
fired him.
Most companies only do basic disclosure checks, if at all, which will give brief facts with no description of the offences, so they don’t know if any they a danger to other people.
Marsha Scott of Scottish Women’s Aid said most women are attacked by men they know but firms need to be alert.
She said: “Businesses need to be vigilant about protecting their customers – and other employees – from any employee who represents a risk, and this means taking previous convictions for abuse as seriously as a bad driving record.”
The delivery company that hired Kerr is based in Wales and covers the UK. Kerr was brought in to cover the Christmas 2020 rush but the firm confirmed they let him go when they were told he had convictions.
Campaigners claim men like Kerr should be on a register to restrict and monitor them like terrorists and sex offenders.
It could prevent them from being given jobs with access to women who may be vulnerable.
Labour’s Rhoda Grant MSP called for a rethink.
She said: “A register with monitoring would be an improvement.
“A sheriff could place an offender on a register if they were convicting them of domestic abuse crimes.
“When people are employed in jobs that are able to access personal details, there are a number of offenders you might not wish to have in that role.”
Yesterday, we told how Kerr had attacked three partners, the first being Amy Clarke in 2012 and 2013 when he broke into her home and strangled her until she passed out.
Kerr beat Paula McNeill in Mull and Paisley in 2018 and for the attacks on her and Amy, he received community payback orders and visited anger management.
Within a month of being convicted of attacking Paula he moved to Wales and beat up new partner Amanda so badly she was hospitalised.
He received a 16-week sentence and was charged with another attack on Amanda but the case was dropped.
Last week, a sheriff sentencing Kerr was only told of his Welsh assault convictions after one victim emailed them to a Scottish prosecutor.
Last night, SNP MSP and women’s campaigner Shona Robison said: “It is clear from this case and others that more needs to be done.
“Where abusers are seeking to abuse any gaps that exist I would urge police forces across the UK and other agencies to work together to ensure there are no loopholes.”
