The fatal stabbing of a young woman by her partner prompted a review of how domestic abuse reports are handled, the head of the Bermuda Police Service said.

Darrin Simons explained that the murder of Morissa Moniz caused him to take a closer look at police responses to incidents of domestic abuse.

The Commissioner of Police added that upcoming training is expected to improve empathy among officers.

He said this week: “Without a doubt the tragic murder of Morissa Moniz impacted me, partly because I do know the family but also it was just how it happened, and the full context of the circumstances involving that incident.

“That incident caused me to do a little bit of a dive into, how do police respond to domestic abuse incidents?

“As a result of that, I found that there were a number of opportunities for us to improve on our service and, just as importantly, for the whole system — all the helping agencies — to have a more joined-up approach in how we address domestic abuse, vulnerability within our community.”

Ms Moniz, 28, was found unresponsive by police called to a domestic incident in the early hours of November 11, 2021, in Smith’s.

Anthony Davis, now 39, who was her boyfriend, was sentenced to life behind bars for a minimum term of 23 years last week.

Puisne Judge Shade Subair Williams told the Supreme Court then that Davis and his victim had shared an “abusive, violent and toxic” relationship.

Mr Simons said his examination of domestic abuse reports led to a visit to Bermuda by SafeLives, a British charity, to study the issue.

He explained: “Some of the very high-level points were that professionals across the spectrum have very positive working relationships with high levels of trust in and among themselves.

“I think one of the advantages of being a small community is people know each other and good relationships can be formed.

“They also came away with the sense that child safeguarding is taken very seriously and that agencies do fundamentally act in the interest of children’s safety.”

Mr Simons said: “Some of the things that they highlighted that were opportunities to excel or to do things differently were that referral pathways for victims are not always clear.

“So, while there are a number of helping agencies, it’s not always clear about who to go to and when, and the sharing of information across those different helping agencies.”

He added that while there was funding for victim services and organisations that offered support to survivors, “what we are definitely lacking in is [for] those who harm and how do we help them?”.

Mr Simons, who acknowledged that police had a role in terms of enforcement, said: “Obviously there is offending — once you’re an offender, you’re in the system — but even then, what services, what funding is available to address that side of the problem?”

He said SafeLives surveyed domestic abuse survivors as well as professionals in the field.

The police commissioner explained that the responses showed: “The No 1 barrier to seeking support for domestic abuse is the fear of not being believed.

“No 2 was a lack of confidence in the police, particularly in following up once a report is made, and keeping them safe after a report has been made.

“So, not news that I’m particularly fond of, but we need to know what the lay of the land is in order for us to make some improvements.

“In terms of addressing that, we are going to be doing some train-the-trainer engagements so that we can roll out additional training within the BPS, particularly to improve empathy and set a culture of engagement around domestic abuse in particular, but it will transcend domestic abuse.”

Mr Simons also noted the Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference model — a Throne Speech initiative adopted last year, which is expected to deliver a more co-ordinated action plan across organisations, including the Government, to deal with perpetrators and protect victims of domestic abuse.

The commissioner explained that police can put a “flag” in their processing system to highlight domestic incidents, which are not limited to partner relationships but can also include those between siblings or a parent and child, among others.

In 2020, there were 305 flags; in 2021, the figure was 149; and in 2022, the flag was checked 350 times.

The first quarter of 2023 saw 66 flags.

Mr Simons said some people who experienced domestic abuse may be worried about telling police amid concerns over remaining anonymous or possible repercussions.

He added that there was an opportunity for the BPS to help survivors feel more sure about making a call, in part by delivering a service that “inspires confidence on the part of people who are reporting it”.

Mr Simons said: “At the end of the day, we are a small community and when we’re doing really well, and conversely when we’re not, the community has a sense of that.”

He added that there could also be “some public messaging around making it clear to the community that domestic abuse is not tolerated within the Bermuda Police Service and something that we take very seriously”.