Carrick case a reminder to take abuse reports seriously, says charity
Wiltshire Police failed to investigate claims of abuse by ex-police officer David Carrick in 2016
Wiltshire's domestic violence charity says the failure of Wiltshire Police to investigate claims of abuse against former police officer, David Carrick, serve as a reminder of what can happen if reports aren't taken seriously.
An allegation of abuse was made against the ex-Met Police officer in to Wiltshire Police in 2016, but an investigation was closed down before it had begun. Two officers were later found guilty of misconduct and given final written warnings last year.
Salisbury-born Carrick, who was originally jailed for life in 2023, was handed further prison sentences last week for more of his offences.
FearFree CEO, Debbie Beadle said it shows the importance of listening to victims.
Ms Beadle said: "This case highlights, the risk of when we're not, one, listening to people and taking them seriously when they report crimes, but also for not doing checks appropriately for people like in this case that are under investigation.
"So it's really important that we're doing thorough checks to ensure that we're keeping people safe."
The Force has taken steps to improve how it handles domestic violence cases, which follows both the failure to investigate Carrick and a staff member failing to disclose information from applications made under Clare's Law - a law which allows people to ask for or be informed of a partners history of abuse.
That led to a review of more than 3,500 cases in 2023.
In October 2025, the Force carried out a month-long campaign to boost awareness and educate officers on domestic violence, to ensure cases are properly investigated.
Ms Beadle has praised the organisation for its commitment to making strides in handling domestic abuse cases, but said the work never stops.
"There still needs to be due diligence done to make sure that we are hiring the correct people, we're making sure that they're trained and fully investigating incidents when they're reporting and believing people when they're coming forward and reporting a crime," she said.
Ms Beadle added that its crucial that Forces across the country create a culture where people have the confidence to report crimes and can disclose safely, as well as making sure they're getting all the information they need to conduct a full investigation.
The charity is working alongside Wiltshire Police to aid the continued improvement, using their expertise to guide officers in supporting survivors appropriately.
"We're happy to support the development and training of police officers and other personnel to make sure that there is a real understanding of abuse of people and that we're able to respond in the most effective trauma-informed way."
Wiltshire Police has "unreservedly apologised" for its failure to investigate the 2016 report.
In a statement, the Force said: “This is a clear case of officers failing, in the most basic sense, to properly investigate allegations made to them.
“This failure in service was compounded by a lack of proper oversight and scrutiny by a supervisor.
“Whilst it would be inappropriate to comment on the ongoing IOPC investigation, clearly the public will have questions as to the impact this inaction might have had on Carrick’s vile offending after 2016.
“Our communities must have the trust and confidence in us to listen to them, investigate any allegation made to us without fear or favour and keep them fully updated as to the actions we are undertaking.
“We would like to apologise unreservedly to the person whose report we did not initially investigate as we should.
“We will ensure that, organisationally, we will share all the learning emanating from this case to improve the service we provide.
“I also want to reiterate our plea to our communities – whenever you have concerns regarding a member of Wiltshire Police – please report these to us. We will take robust action against anyone whose conduct falls short of our expectations.
“We also routinely encourage all members of the Force to use an anonymous reporting tool if they have concerns regarding a colleague’s behaviour.”