'Raneem's Law'

The Labour Party have introduced the idea of a new law called ‘Raneem’s law’ – named after Raneem Oudeh, who was murdered at 22 years old alongside her mother Khaola Saleem. Ms Oudeh and Ms Saleem were murdered by Ms Oudeh’s ex-partner, Janbaz Tarin in Solihull in 2018.

Why is this proposal so important?

These brutal murders have led to proposals to introduce domestic violence specialists in police control rooms. During an inquest into the failings of the force, West Midlands Police were found to have “materially contributed” to the deaths of Ms Oudeh and Ms Saleem and five officers have now been disciplined. The inquest heard that on the night they were killed by Tarin, Ms Oudeh made 4 calls to the force as she had concerns for her safety and despite there being a non-molestation order in place against Tarin, no officers were sent to attend. It also revealed that Ms Oudeh had made numerous calls to emergency services in the run up to her death and during the inquest, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) detailed 10 domestic abuse incidents reported to West Midlands Police between April and August 2018. It was the final emergency call made by Ms Oudeh which recorded the moment she and her mother were tragically killed by Tarin. Tarin has been sentenced to a minimum of 31 years in December 2018 after he admitted murdering both women.

Shadow Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said these plans for ‘Raneem’s Law’ are crucial after these missed opportunities by agencies which may have protected both Ms Oudeh and her mother. At this year’s Labour North Conference, Ms Cooper detailed Labour’s plans to introduce compulsory training for police officers to help tackle violence against women and girls. These proposals have been supported by Ms Saleem’s sister and Ms Oudeh’s aunt, Nour Norris.

“Missed opportunities cost lives and far too many have already been lost” says Yvette Cooper.

Labour’s proposals would see a system that has been successfully piloted in Northumbria rolled out across the country, which involves domestic abuse specialists being placed in 999 control rooms. Labour have stated that these specialists would help improve early intervention by creating more rigorous deadlines for considering whether victims require a protective civil order. Under these proposals, police forces would be required to have a dedicated officer to oversee the enforcement of protective orders in these cases and publish figures on the number of applications made by police for civil orders.

Labour have said they would push for the national rollout of an electronic link between family courts and police forces so that civil orders and injunctions are widely shared. Domestic abuse campaigners have long claimed that orders such as domestic violence protection notices (DVPN) and domestic violence protection orders (DVPO) are not used extensively, or where they are used, they are ineffective because alleged breaches are not followed up.

The IOPC found that there were clear opportunities to reduce the risk Tarin posed to Ms Oudeh and that police must learn lessons around domestic abuse. The watchdog also found that despite Tarin being suspected of assaulting Ms Oudeh, he was not arrested or requested to attend a voluntary interview. It appears that police resourcing issues and a lack of communication also played a role on the night of the killings. During the inquest it was revealed that there was a firearms incident going on in the same area that same night and all police resources available were concentrating on that incident.

Andy Hill, West Midlands Assistant Chief Constable said that the murders were “among the most shocking and appalling crimes in our region in recent years”. He went on to say that “more could have been done to protect Raneem from the campaign of domestic abuse that she suffered in the months leading up to her death at the hands of the man who would go on to kill her and her mother”. Mr Hill states that changes have been made since this incident, including an increase in the number of police officers investigating domestic abuse offences, and he promises that more would be done. However, he accepts that “none of this will undo the devastation that the murders of Raneem and Khaola caused to their family”.

If you, or someone you know, is being subjected to domestic abuse and you would like some legal advice and want to know what protective measures are available, please get in touch with Johnson Astills today. Please call us at our office in Leicester on 0116 255 4855 or our office in Loughborough on 01509 610 312 and ask to speak to a member of the Domestic Violence and Abuse Department (DVAD). Alternatively, you may prefer to email us at legal@johnsonastills.com or fill in our enquiry form.