A Met Police contact handler has been praised for using Instagram to safeguard a victim of domestic abuse who made a report while she was abroad.
Emma Tavill (pictured) assigned herself to a case after she was contacted by a woman who had been assaulted by her partner while on holiday in Cyprus.
The victim managed to send photo and video evidence of her injuries on February 19 to the Met’s Instagram page by direct message.
Emma used the information she had to gather information about the suspect, including his return flight details.
Once the suspect landed in the UK the following day, he was swiftly arrested at Gatwick Airport and taken into custody.
Acting chief superintendent Neil Holyoak said: “Emma’s response is a great example of the type of work being done across the Met to keep people safe. Her actions meant we could go above and beyond to safeguard a vulnerable victim even when she wasn’t in the UK.
“We know it’s not always possible for victims to call us and that’s why we receive crime reports and information through a range of digital channels, such as Instagram, as well as on our website.”
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire & Rescue Services recently recognised the Met’s improvements to call handling.
Last year, staff and officers in MetCC responded to 4,660,891 contacts, of which 2,394,416 were 999 calls, 1,279,552 were 101 calls and 988,923 were digital contacts.
