Overview

• A disciplinary panel upheld seven of 16 allegations against former DVDS researcher Gavin Hudson, ruling he would have been dismissed and placing him on the policing barred list.
• The IOPC found Hudson failed to check police systems before telling applicants there was nothing on file, skipped mandatory training, and issued no‑further‑action letters without supervisor review.
• An application in July 2022 that should have flagged a Violent and Sexual Offender Register marker was mishandled, and the woman was stabbed in 2023 by her partner, who was later jailed for attempted murder.
• Wiltshire Police reviewed 3,778 Clare’s Law applications, identifying 33 failures that included three harmful outcomes, 17 service failures, and 14 administrative failures.
• Chief Constable Catherine Roper issued an apology, detailed leadership changes and tighter supervision of disclosures, and the IOPC urged all forces to reinforce guidance and training on Clare’s Law.