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The Story of Baby P: Setting the Record Straight

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Keith Popple, The Story of Baby P: Setting the Record Straight, The British Journal of Social Work , Volume 45, Issue 3, April 2015, Pages 1069–1071, https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcv011

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The horrendous cruelty, torture and abuse to and deliberate neglect of Peter Connelly followed by his appalling death in north London at the age of seventeen months in August 2007 are etched on the minds of social workers practising in England and elsewhere. This dreadful incident continues to impact on the careers on both present and future generations of social workers, as it has led to changes in the delivery of qualifying social work education and of social work practice with children and families in England.

Briefly, and to remind international readers, Peter suffered from more than fifty injuries over an eight-month period before his death. Although during this period Peter was seen again and again by professionals from a number of public agencies including the local authority Haringey Children's Services and the health professionals, he was not removed from his abusive home life to a place of safety. Following the Old Bailey conviction and imprisonment of Peter's mother Tracey Connelly, her partner Steven Barker and Barker's brother Jason Owen, a number of statutory reviews of the case and a national review of social work took place, which together with a debate in the House of Commons revealed major concerns in the way that the professions had dealt with Peter.

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The Homicide of “Baby P”, Case Study Example

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Introduction

Few crimes are perceived as more heinous than infanticide, as no human life is more vulnerable than that of an infant, and as cultures demand the utmost in the safeguarding of a baby’s well-being as a parental duty and natural impulse.  Some nations define infanticide by age, but most hold to it as the intentional murder, through neglect or abuse, of a child under five years (Fisher, Lab, 2011,  p. 479).  Age notwithstanding, infanticide elicits outrage, and usually the mother is deemed responsible, her actual role in the murder aside.  The horror of the crime as a violation of maternal care is such that the mothers as victims themselves is disregarded (Spinelli, 2003,  p. xv).  All of this becomes inescapably clear in the murder of “Baby P,” discussed in the following.

The Crime   Type

The death in 2007 of Peter Connelly, aged 17 months, was determined to be homicide, or infanticide, resulting from abuse.  The baby’s mother, Tracey Connelly, and her boyfriend, Steven Barker, were both charged and convicted of the physical abuse which caused the child’s death (BBC News, 2009).

In August of 2007, the infant Peter Connelly was discovered dead in the home of his mother, Tracy Connelly, in the Haringey section of North London.  Several months later, Connelly, her live-in partner Steven Barker, and Barker’s brother, Jason Owen, were charged with homicide, as it was evident that the baby had suffered extreme physical abuse.  The child had in fact been admitted to St. Ann’s Hospital a day earlier, at which time severe injuries were not detected by the examining doctor and the baby was returned to his mother.  An ambulance was called to the home on the following day and, despite resuscitation attempts, the child died.  The post-mortem revealed a broken back, broken ribs, missing teeth, extensive bruising, and mutilated fingers (BBC News, 2012).  Connelly herself was immediately arrested, as were Barker, Owen, and Owen’s 15 year-old girlfriend, who had been living with Connelly.  All had fled to a campsite in Epping Forest.  As the investigation proceeded, the names of the victim and those charged with the murder were not disclosed, due to the fact that the baby had four siblings at that time being placed in foster care.

Victimology

The victim’s age inherently offers no substance for evaluating personal characteristics.  By all accounts, Peter Connelly was a normal infant, and all that marks him as unusual is the documented history of injuries suffered within his brief life.  Born in March of 2006, bruising on the child led to the mother’s arrest in December of that year, and the child placed in temporary foster care for five weeks.  Steven Barker had been living with the mother prior to this incident, and the baby was once again hospitalized in April of 2007, as he had extensive bruising, black eyes, and swelling in his head. The mother was arrested again in May when a social worker noticed more evidence of physical abuse on the child.  At the time of his death, the child had suffered over 50 injuries, including broken bones and a broken back (BBC News, 2012).  All indications blatantly point to an ongoing history wherein the infant was beaten and/or tortured by Connelly, Barker, and/or by Owen and his girlfriend.

An ancillary victomology involves the grandmother of Barker and Owen, Hilda Barker.  The men had been charged with assaulting the woman in an effort to compel her to alter her will in their favor; the charges were dropped only after the 82 year-old woman died before giving evidence.  She had previously informed the police that Barker and Owen had locked her in a wardrobe closet (BBC News, 2009).  There is as well a conviction against Barker for the rape of a two year-old girl identified only as ‘X’ (BBC News, 2010), which adds to the victim count linked to Peter Connelly’s murder.

Offender Profiles

Tracey Connelly

In assessing the character of Tracey Connelly, investigation invariably and consistently reveals at best a grossly negligent mother.  Connelly’s own attorney described her as, “lazy and inadequate,” as the young woman, a mother of five by her mid-twenties, spent her days on Internet chat rooms and rarely attended to basic hygiene.  There is also evidence that Connelly herself had been a victim of child abuse, as she had been taken from her own mother at the age of 12 when social agencies found the woman unfit to raise a child (Hughes, 2009).  There was no exact determination of who had inflicted what injuries to the boy, but Connelly’s active role is evident in other circumstances, transecnding ennabling and indicating participation.  In July of 2007, for example, it was found that the baby had been smeared with chocolate in order to disguise bruising from a social worker, and this strongly indicates cooperation between the mother and Barker.  When the boy was examined on the day before his death, Connelly opposed a complete examination by claiming that the child was, “grouchy.”  Social workers also noted the state of the home as grossly unsanitary, with feces on the floors.  Weapons and Nazi paraphernalia were also observed (Corby, Shemmings, & Wilkins, 2012,  p. 62).  It is then reasonable to conclude that Tracey Connelly’s character was negligent to the point of abuse, even if she herself did not actively participate in the ongoing cruelty.  Moreover, Connelly adheres to the model of abusive adult in that, in over 72 percent of cases of infant abuse of this kind, the perpetrator is a biological parent (Miller-Perrin, Perrin, 2012,  p. 165).

Steven Barker/ Jason Owen

With regard to Steven Barker, investigation reveals more of a pathology than a character.  Aged 32 at the time of his arrest for Peter Connelly’s murder, Barker’s history clearly reveals criminal tendencies going to sadism.  It was 10 years before he met Tracey Connelly, for instance, that he and his older brother Owen were charged by their grandmother for assault.  Each brother had disclosed to family members that the other had terrorized them in their youth, and Barker expressed to the police that he lived in fear of his brother’s killing him (Hughes, 2009).  The veracity of these accounts notwithstanding, there remains the conviction of Barker for raping a two year-old girl, exacerbated by Barker’s attempted appeal; he fought the conviction by claiming that the victim was not competent to testify, a tactic dismissed by the presiding judge (BBC News, 2010).  It is possible that Barker is clinically sociopathic, if not psychotic.  At the same time, his various efforts to lessen the severity of his convictions, including stressing concerns for his safety while incarcerated (BBC News, 2009), indicate a distinct awareness of his own actions.

Less is known regarding Jason Owen, who had changed his name from Barker to deflect inquiry when he became involved with his 15 year-old girlfriend.  That Owen resided in the Connelly home during the times when Peter was so horrifically abused, however, along with his participation in terrorizing the grandmother and his evident sexual attraction to minors, points to a character as innately corrupt as that of his brother. Both men also very much conform to the established characteristics of physical and sexual abusers of children: they are intimitately involved with the family; they are of below-average intelligence; and, particularly in regard to Barker’s rape conviction, they are young males with histories of sadistic behavior (Flowers, 2000, p. 128).

Intervention Issues

The blatant failure of social services to properly respond in this case emphasizes a potent dilemma: the rights of parents remain an obstacle in cases of suspected abuse of children, which in turn limits resources: “Only a small percentage of all resources specifically earmarked for child maltreatment in the United States is actually devoted to prevention” (Thomas et al , 2012).  It is only fair to conclude that agencies are restricted as to the extent of their authority. That said, the circumstances of Peter Connelly’s life and death are such as to render the lack of intervention extraordinary.  On at least four separate occasions within the 17-month life of the child, external parties witnessed clear evidence of physical trauma to him.  On at least two occasions, the grossly unsanitary condition of the home was noted,  Most strikingly, the infant was examined by a doctor on the day before his death and was released back to his mother’s care despite the blatant signs of abuse.  A GP,  Dr Jerome Ikwueke, saw the baby 14 times before his death (BBC News, 2012). Social workers were as well aware of Connelly’s history as unstable, just as the ongoing efforts to place her other children in foster care were potent motives for at least greater investigation.  There is, unfortunately, no escaping the reality that it is difficult to conceive of a case wherein intervention is so consistently demanded by the facts in evidence.  It is then all the more regrettable that the one occasion where action was taken, when the child was removed from Connelly only months after birth, was so poorly handled.  At that time, the baby was placed with a “family friend”; given the nature of Connelly’s life, this could hardly be deemed an effective strategy for ensuring the welfare of the infant.

Repercussions

Repercussions following the murder have been many, with agencies and personnel alike dismissed and/or facing severe sanctions.  Dr. Ikwueke, for example, was suspended from the General Medical Council (BBC News, 2012).  Nonetheless, the failures in intervention in this tragic case defy explanation.  If there is concern regarding parents’ rights, so too is there cause for scrutiny regarding a seemingly inexplicable agency disregard.

 Relevant Trends

Ample evidence existed to reveal that Barker and Owen were a dangerous element in the home.  As noted, Barker had a violent police record and had clearly indicated unstable, if not psychotic, tendencies, and it is established that such behavior follows patterns.  Research reveals that, when such young men take on the “stepfather” role, they typically abuse the mother and alternate between decent care for the child and violent abuse (Harne, 2011,  p. 91).  Added to this is Connelly’s own history, noted earlier, as a victim of at least neglect and likely physical abuse.  Such parents account for more than 70 percent of child abuse cases, and more than half of all murders of children are committed by the mother or father (Brookman, 2006,  p. 186).  Supporting this is research revealing that these abuse cycles are greatly lessened when the initial victim receives therapy and/or the support of a non-abusive adult (McQueen, Kennedy, & Sinason, 2008,  p. 20).

Ultimately, even a cursory knowledge of the backgrounds of Connelly, Barker, and Owen greatly affirms the overwhelming risk to a child in their care.  Plainly, what is evident was abuse gaining in horrific impact as it moved through generational cycles.  In assessing the entirety of Peter Connelly’s life and death, and in noting the inescapable facts regarding his mother and those living in the household, the conclusion must be reached that, incident after incident, this was a murder preventable on multiple occasion.

BBC News. (2012). Timeline of Baby P Case. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11626806

BBC News. (2010). “Baby P Killer Steven Barker Loses Rape Appeal.” Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/8471960.stm

BBC News. (2009). “Couple Behind Baby P Death Named.”  Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8194235.stm

Brookman, F. (2006).  Understanding Homicide.  Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Corby, B., Shemmings, D., & Wilkins, D. (2012).  Child Abuse: An Evidence Base for Confident Practice.  New York: McGraw-Hill.

Fisher, B. S., & Lab, S. P. (2011).  Encyclopedia of Victimology and Crime Prevention.  Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Flowers, R. B. (2000).  Domestic Crimes, Family Violence and Child Abuse: A Study of Contemporary American Society.  Jefferson: McFarland & Co.

Harne, L. (2011).  Violent Fathering and the Risks to Children: The Need for Change . Portland: Policy Press.

Hughes, M. (2009). “The Killers: A  Lethal Pairing of Inadequacy and Sadism.”  The Independent . Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/the-killers-a-lethal-pairing-of-inadequacy-and-sadism-1770267.html

McQueen, D., Kennedy, R., & Sinason, V.  (2008).  Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy After Child Abuse: The Treatment of Adults and Children Who Have Experienced Sexual Abuse, Violence, and Neglect in Childhood . London: Karmac Books.

Miller-Perrin, C. L., & Perrin, R. D. (2012).  Child Maltreatment: An Introduction.  Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Spinelli, M. G. (2003).  Infanticide: Psychosocial and Legal Perspectives on Mothers Who Kill.  Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Publishing.

Thomas, D., Leicht, C., Hughes, C., Madigan, A., & Dowell, K. (2012). Emerging Practices in the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. Washington, D.C.: U.S.          Department of Health and Human Services.  Retrieved from https://www.childwelfare.gov/preventing/programs/whatworks/report/report.pdf

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The lessons of Baby P

Although the case of Baby P, killed at the age of 17 months by his mother, her boyfriend and a lodger has provoked a national controversy, for me it is very close to home. I live near to where Baby P lived in the London borough of Haringey, whose officers have been held to blame, and I have long been involved in child protection work as a GP in the neighbouring borough of Hackney.

My immediate feelings of horror and outrage at the savage abuse suffered by Baby P and sympathies for his wider family, were soon followed by concerns for the doctors and other professionals involved, and the familiar sentiment of ‘there but for the grace of God …’. These concerns were particularly reinforced by vivid memories of a case with many similarities in our practice more than a decade ago.

In this case a baby of a similar age to Baby P was killed by his mother's boyfriend. The peculiar intimacy of the fatal blow — inflicted by head-butting — expressed both the ferocity and the barbarity of the assault, in a way strikingly similar to the account of Baby P's fractured spine and multiple injuries. The man who was convicted in our case (of previous good character and sound mental health) later conceded that he knew from the moment he met this baby he was destined to kill him. As Andrew Cooper, professor of social work at the Tavistock, observes in a thoughtful commentary, ‘the treatment of Baby P reminds us that there are people whose minds, actions, motives, and ways of relating to others seem incomprehensible’. 1 He also notes that research into serious case reviews of children killed or injured between 2003 and 2005 revealed that nearly 90% of the most dangerous cases were not on the child protection register. He counsels against concluding from such cases that the system is failing, because ‘arguably’, it was ‘never designed to deal with these extremes of human behaviour’.

The inquiry into our case came to the same banal conclusions as every other such inquiry over several decades: everybody was to blame, there was a lack of inter-agency coordination and everybody should try harder in future. In fact, as I observed in a response to the official report, the inquiry confirmed that, even though approved procedures had been followed to the letter, it was clear that nobody could have anticipated and prevented what happened. The striking difference from the Baby P case — reflecting the highly arbritrary and irrational character of the recent furore — was that this one attracted little local publicity and no national interest. Hence it was not followed by the sort of witch-hunting and political posturing that has accompanied the recent case, leading to numerous sackings and resignations in Haringey.

The vituperative media response to the death of Baby P reveals popular prejudices against people who live in relatively deprived inner-city areas and an inability to acknowledge the extremes of depravity of which human beings are capable. The scapegoating of the social workers and other professionals reflects the need to find somebody to blame and the wishful thinking that all cases of extreme cruelty to children can be prevented. It also serves to justify the extension of professional intervention into all aspects of child development in ways that will not improve protection against abuse but may further undermine parental confidence and family cohesion. 2

‘Think dirty’ is the prevailing advice to doctors and health visitors and others who are in day-to-day contact with young children and their families. Inflated estimates of the prevalence of child abuse encourage suspicion and mistrust between professionals and parents. 3 But working on the presumption that every child who comes into the surgery may be at risk of becoming another Baby P is not conducive to good relations with parents, or, ultimately, to the interests of children.

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Baby P's death could and should have been prevented, report says

Baby Peter suffered as a result of incompetence on the part of almost every agency involved in his case, from social workers to doctors, lawyers and police, according to a previously secret official report disclosed for the first time today.

A serious case review found that the 17-month-old's death could and should have been prevented, and that if professionals had taken the right approach the case would have been "stopped in its tracks at the first serious incident".

But the approach of the majority of staff who played a role was "completely inadequate", it said.

"[Baby P] deserved better from the services which were there to protect him, and they in turn deserved better than the ethos which influenced their work at the time," the case review concluded.

Peter Connelly died in Tottenham, north London, in 2007 at the hands of his mother, Tracey Connelly, her violent partner, Steven Barker, and his brother Jason Owen. Peter had suffered more than 50 injuries despite receiving 60 visits from social workers, doctors and police over an eight-month period.

The report – the first serious case review to be published in full, following a commitment from the coalition government – reveals that agencies consistently failed to work out that Connelly was in a relationship with Barker, whom she even named as her next of kin on an official form. An unrelated man joining a single-parent family where there are child protection issues would be a serious cause for concern.

A social worker was told that Connelly had a boyfriend but did not ask who he was or request to meet him. Police who arrested and questioned her after Peter was brought to hospital in December 2006 with bruising that a consultant paediatrician concluded was probably non-accidental did not ask who else had access to her home, despite being aware of a man who was mentioned as a "friend".

The joint investigation by police and social services at this stage should have done more to establish the identity of the man and to test Connelly's assertion that he was peripheral to the family and not left alone with children, the report concluded.

Health services were also criticised. A GP who saw Peter in autumn 2006 should have been more concerned about Connelly's claims that he bruised easily and a later report that he had fallen down the stairs, which he should have told the health visitor about.

Hospital doctors were at times too willing to believe Connelly's explanations for her son's injuries, the report said. Doctors and social workers took a "sanguine" view when Peter was brought to hospital in April 2007 with large swelling to the side of his head, failing to alert police or convene a child protection conference.

After it was decided that Peter should stay with a family friend after the December incident, the police agreed he could go back home in January even though their investigation was not finished. They then "mislaid" the investigation because of staff changes and only found and resurrected it months later.

When more injuries were discovered on Peter in June 2007, officers were convinced they were non-accidental. But, the report said, they did not do their duty by investigating, instead leaving it to the social worker.

It took seven weeks to arrange a legal planning meeting to consider the need for care proceedings, because of administrative failures in the legal services team and a lack of urgency by social work managers. When the meeting did finally take place it was with a "relatively inexperienced" lawyer.

A review conference held on 8 June was poorly attended, with neither doctors, lawyers or police turning up despite the fact that Peter had suffered two sets of injuries since the previous conference.

The report, of which only a summary was published in March 2009, said: "In this case, the practice of the majority, both individually and collectively... was incompetent and their approach was completely inadequate to meet the challenge presented by the case of [Peter]."

An earlier serious case review, which was later judged "inadequate" by Ofsted, was also published in full. The children's minister, Tim Loughton, said he hoped the release of the reports would bring "some form of closure" so that everyone involved in the case could move on.

Downing Street described the report as shocking. Graham Badman, who chaired the second case review, said: "There have been significant changes to the way in which Haringey services are conducted. If Peter Connelly is to have any legacy at all, it is that children are now safer."

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