A coroner has raised concerns about the probation service’s inadequate checks, which he claims continue to place women and children at risk following a quadruple murder in Killamarsh. Damien Bendall killed Terri Harris and her children, John Paul and Lacey Bennett, along with Lacey’s friend, Connie Gent, in 2021. The inquests heard serious failures by the probation service resulted in their deaths. The report calls attention to the probation service’s record keeping on offenders, domestic abuse and child safeguarding checks, as well as the training of its officers, highlighting concerns about the service.
Domestic abuse and child safeguarding checks were either lacking or inadequate at various stages of the offender management system. Senior coroner Peter Nieto expressed uncertainty as to whether the probation service could record information clearly about dangerous offenders, as well as whether its staff were sufficiently qualified to deal with such cases. Additionally, the probation service is yet to fully comprehend the importance of completing safeguarding checks in order to protect women and children from harm.
The inquest revealed that Bendall was given a whole life sentence for his crimes and was managed by probation officers who were overworked, inexperienced, and made individual errors. The systems they relied upon were deemed “confusing” by the coroner, and as a result safeguarding systems remain “severely strained”. The report has been forwarded to Justice Secretary Alex Chalk, while Capita PLC and the Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust were also addressed in relation to the case.
Capita PLC was criticised after it failed to report a disturbing comment made by Bendall, while the NHS Trust did not record at least four cases of drug and alcohol abuse by Bendall. The probation service has promised to recruit more probation officers, mandate domestic abuse and child safeguarding checks and improve its information-sharing mechanisms. It is currently reviewing its next steps following the coroner’s findings, in alignment with its commitment to ensuring public safety. The murderers committed by Bendall were shocking, with unthinkable impacts on victims’ families, and serious measures must be taken to prevent future correspondences.
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