Police and social services alerted 60 times before Alfie Steele was murdered

Nine-year-old was killed by his mother and her partner after being classed as ‘safe and well’, despite distressing reports from neighbours

Police and social services were called more than 60 times over concerns about a nine-year-old boy murdered by his mother and her partner, it has emerged.
A review of social services and police contact with Alfie Steele, of Droitwich, Worcestershire, published on Friday, found that he was classed as “safe and well” after home visits.
Alfie died in February 2021 after his head was repeatedly held underwater in a bath, following months of “sadistic” cruelty and “torture” which left him with more than 50 injuries.
A trial at Coventry Crown Court was told that 999 calls made by neighbours in April, May and August 2020 had supplied details of Alfie’s ordeal, including a call saying it sounded like he was “being hit and held under the water”.
Alfie’s mother, Carla Scott, 35, was jailed in June last year for 27 years for manslaughter, and her partner, Dirk Howell, 41, was ordered to serve life with a minimum term of 32 years for murder.
A Child Safeguarding Practice Review by the Worcestershire Safeguarding Children Partnership (WSCP), highlighted a string of errors and missed opportunities from professionals.
It said that they were involved with the family “over an extended period of time” but had placed too much reliance on Alfie himself to share “concerns and evidence that he was being abused and harmed”.
“He was consistently asked if he had any worries, whether he liked Dirk Howell and what had happened in the context of allegations of abuse and aggression,” the review said.
It found that the professionals who worked with Alfie were hard-working, showed care and commitment to him and the family, but were “often hampered by two adults who sought to deliberately lie, mislead and cover up what was happening”.
The review made eight recommendations to agencies including the WSCP and the Probation Service, including a call for practitioners to be provided with guidance to strengthen child protection plans by supporting family members and neighbours who report concerns.
It comes as a BBC investigation found that 64 referrals had been made to police and social services regarding Alfie’s treatment.
Freedom of Information requests by the broadcaster found that Worcestershire County Council was contacted 36 times between 2018 and 2020 by people concerned about Alfie’s welfare.
West Mercia Police was contacted 28 times during the same three years.
Alfie’s grandparents told the BBC that they were “living in a nightmare”.
Paul Scott, his grandfather, said that the 64 referrals made him “very angry”, adding: “Every single one of them times is a time they could have stopped my grandson from dying. That’s not just a number to me.”
Alfie had been subject to a child protection plan for neglect in 2018. By August 2019, family and neighbours were raising concerns about Howell’s extensive criminal history, drug use and aggression, prompting a safeguarding strategy discussion, the 23-page review said.
It added: “From the start of the review period, there was concern about Dirk Howell and his history of violence and criminality.
“He was subject to bail conditions in relation to a burglary where firearms had been stolen in August 2019.”
Between May 2019 and January 2020, Howell was subject to post-release supervision by the Probation Service, but the service was unaware he had threatened neighbours with reprisals for reporting concerns about Alfie, a “clear breach” of his supervision requirements.
The review said that there were six known incidents raised with the police or children’s services relating to neighbours or school staff concerns about physical abuse or Howell’s “harsh and cruel practices to Alfie”.
“Each incident would be followed up by a police or social worker visit,” the report said. “There was inconsistency when Alfie was spoken to, made complicated by his age and on some occasions the lateness in the day of the visit.
“Too often he was described as ‘safe and well’ when he had not been spoken to.
“The police did not always follow through on injuries noted to Alfie. There were always causal explanations given by Alfie or Carla Scott, but given the context, there should have been more thought given to ensuring that injuries were checked through medical examination.”
The report added that when Howell threatened the neighbours with violence and arson, they said they did not want to pursue a complaint because they were worried about “repercussions”.
An investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct is ongoing into the contact West Mercia Police had with Alfie, Scott and Howell.
The couple’s six-week trial was told Alfie was denied food as an act of cruelty and routinely subjected to other “sinister” punishments, including being locked outside his home in cold weather.
West Mercia Police’s Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Jones said an initial review into the force’s involvement with the family had resulted in “enhanced training” for officers and staff “to ensure they fully understand the signs of vulnerability, that they are professionally curious and don’t take information on face value”.
The force referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over its involvement.
An IOPC spokesperson said the review was ongoing but had not identified any conduct issues for any officers involved at this stage.
“We are looking at the force’s response to concerns about Alfie’s welfare and we have so far examined a large number of documents including police logs, witness statements and relevant policies, along with body-worn video.”