Litany of failings by probation officers before paedophile rapist Damian Bendall killed four people, watchdog finds
17 January 2023, 02:53 | Updated: 17 January 2023, 06:44
A watchdog has revealed a litany of failings by probation officers before paedophile rapist Damian Bendall brutally killed four people.
Damien Bendall brutally murdered his pregnant partner Terri Harris, 35, her Lacey Bennett, 11, her son John Paul Bennett, 13, and Lacey's friend Connie Gent, 11 with a clawhammer in Killamarsh, Derbyshire, in September 2021.
Bendall also admitted raping Lacey.
Bendall, now 33, is currently serving a whole-life order for the killings, but a formal review has found that the Probation Service's handling of him was of an "unacceptable standard", and that "critical opportunities" to correct errors had been missed.
Chief inspector of probation Justin Russell said the Probation Service's assessment and management of him, "fell far below what was required", and he was handled by officers who weren't sufficiently qualified and experienced.
Read more: Mum, 17, and baby among six dead after California shooting
Two members of staff faced disciplinary action over the case.
Despite previous convictions for grievous bodily harm and robbery, as well as allegations by a former partner of domestic abuse, Bendall had been put under curfew at home with Ms Harris and her children.
At the time, Bendall was on probation, serving a 24-month suspended sentence for arson.
But no attempt had been made to speak to Ms Harris or visit the property, and there is no evidence that "essential" domestic abuse and child safeguarding checks were done by the probation officers making this decision.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab ordered a review of how probation staff had supervised the killer when it emerged he had previous convictions for crimes including grievous bodily harm and robbery before the quadruple murder.
Mr Russell's report laid bare a series of missed opportunities by probation officers, including that Bendall's records showed an ex-parter had made allegations of domestic abuse made against him, and that Wiltshire Police's child sexual exploitation unit had contacted probation over concerns about his association with a vulnerable teenage girl in care.
Officers at the time were found to have been focused on Bendall's violence behind bars and extreme right-wing views, rather than the risks he posed at home.
The report blamed inexperience for decisions taken by officers, who "should not have been exposed to cases such as (Bendall's) at this stage in their careers".
Mr Russell said: "If Bendall had been assessed as presenting a higher risk of serious harm - which would have been appropriate - it is unlikely a curfew order would have been deemed suitable and he would have been assigned to more experienced and confident probation officers."
In a statement, prisons and probation minister Damian Hinds said: “These were appalling crimes. The chief probation officer has apologised to the victims’ families for the unacceptable failings in this case and disciplinary action has been taken against two members of staff.”
He added: "The extra funding of £155m a year we have put into the Probation Service is being used to recruit thousands more frontline staff and to ensure domestic abuse and child safeguarding checks are always carried out before any offender is given a curfew.
"The Probation Service has also improved information sharing with police and councils, so no family is put at such significant risk again."
