A women murdered at home by her ex-boyfriend was failed by two
police forces, as well as the 999 system, the Independent Police
Complaints Commission has said.
Gwent Police and South Wales took 22 minutes to respond to
emergency calls from 25-year-old Joanna Mitchell, who was being
stabbed to death, as well as to calls from concerned
neighbours.
The killer, 20-year-old Cyron Williams, carried out the attack
on the mother of two in August last year which reportedly left her
home resembling a scene from a horror film. Despite two potentially
life-saving calls to 999 operators, police did not arrive on the
scene immediately.
Ms Mitchell's calls from her mobile phone, and those of her
neighbours, were unaccountably mis-routed to neighbouring Gwent
Police by a phone mast. Vital time was lost while details were
passed over to South Wales Police and the person who answered the
first emergency call did not record the full information.
As a result, South Wales Police did not immediately send
officers to the scene. It was only when a screaming Ms Michael
called for a second time, a call which again was wrongly routed to
Gwent Police, that officers were dispatched.
The commission said both human and technical errors were to
blame.
A Gwent Police emergency call handler has been accused of gross
misconduct and will be disciplined, as will an emergency call
handler at South Wales Police.
The police watchdog said Ms Michael "was failed by Gwent Police,
South Wales Police and the 999 system itself".