“They did worse than doing nothing” the family of a victim of femicide denounces the negligence of the police

This Wednesday, April 7, 2021, the lawyer Me Isabelle Steyer confirmed to the newspaper The world have written to the Ministry of the Interior. Her clients are the family of Nathalie Debaillie, victim of feminicide. In 2019, she was kidnapped in the underground parking lot of her workplace in Lille. His body was found covered with stab wounds. Today, his relatives denounce the negligence of the Lille police officers who, according to them, did not help Nathalie Debaillie. The lawyer said that she had sent Gérald Darmanin, Minister of the Interior, a letter “on the basis of the code of ethics” officials in question. This letter does not constitute a complaint in the criminal sense of the term. This is a claim for “be carried out all the necessary measures to identify and punish the perpetrators of this series of negligence and dysfunctions that allowed the murder which could and should have been avoided.”

“The police did worse than doing nothing”

Me Isabelle Steyer targets four police officers from a Lille police station and considers “that they did worse than do nothing.” The victim would have filed several handrails and a complaint was registered on March 9, 2019. However, no action was taken on the part of the police. The attacker, meanwhile, would never have been heard: “We could have referred him to the prosecution, put him under judicial supervision, under an electronic bracelet or use the telephone in serious danger”, explains the lawyer. “Why was he never, even summoned?”, wonders the brother of the victim Nicolas Debaillie, contacted by The world.

Read also : Victim of domestic violence, she loses her baby at 8 months of pregnancy and calls for the conviction of her ex

Reception of victims of domestic violence in police stations: a real problem

This case is unfortunately not an isolated case. Filing a complaint at the police station turns out to be a real obstacle course for women victims of violence. Often, they testify to the deplorable reception they are faced with. The police are sometimes dishonest or terribly clumsy, even guilty.

In 2019, following the Grenelle on domestic violence initiated by the government of Emmanuel Macron, police and gendarmerie training for a better reception of victims has been put in place. Even today, we see that they must be taken very seriously by the police.

How to help victims of domestic violence?

Regarding women who experience domestic violence, support numbers and platforms are also available:

• National and anonymous listening number: 39 19
• In case of emergency: call 17 or 112
• Online reporting: go to the platform STOP THE VIOLENCE