How police came to rescue of woman assaulted by partner on holiday abroad using Instagram

6 Mar 2025 • 1:30 AM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

image is not available

A Metropolitan Police contact handler used Instagram to safeguard a victim of domestic abuse who made a report while she was on holiday.

Emma Tavill was contacted by a woman on 19 February 2024 who had been assaulted by her partner while away in Cyprus.

The victim sent photo and video evidence of her injuries to the Met's Instagram page by direct message.

Ms Tavill used the information she had to gather intelligence about the suspect, including his return flight details.

Once the suspect landed in the UK the following day, he was arrested at Gatwick Airport and taken into custody.