Zara Aleena murder could have been avoided

The murder of Zara Aleena in east London “could have been avoided” with better communication between prison and probation services, the chief inspector of probation has said.

Jordan McSweeney was jailed for life with a minimum term of 33 years at the Old Bailey for the killing and sexual assault of the 35-year-old law graduate in Ilford in June 2022.

He attacked Ms Aleena nine days after his release on licence from prison.

On Wednesday, an inquest jury found that failures “across multiple agencies” had contributed to Ms Aleena’s death.

HM Chief Inspector of Probation Martin Jones told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “This is all about risk assessment.

“If this person had been correctly assessed as ‘high risk’, that would have set off a set of triggers in relation to how he was managed, and when he was released from prison there would have been better planning.

“And when he was not complying in the community, his recall would have been much quicker if he had been assessed as high risk to the public.”

A report in January 2023 by Mr Jones’ predecessor, Justin Russell, found McSweeney had been wrongly assessed as “medium risk” by staff who were under “mounting pressure” at the time.

Police were unable to make contact with McSweeney after he was released on licence on 17 June 2022, but probation waited five days before initiating his recall to prison.

He missed his probation appointment on the day he was let out, and his mother told staff he had passed out drunk at her house, the inquest heard.

It was rescheduled twice but McSweeney did not attend either appointment, and when officers approached his mother again she said she did not know where he was.

Despite the lack of contact, his recall was not initiated until 22 June and the recall report was signed on 24 June.

Police were given powers to arrest McSweeney at 16:10 the same day.

In the early hours of 26 June, McSweeney murdered Ms Aleena.

Mr Jones said there was a failure to communicate between prison staff and probation services about McSweeney’s violent conduct in prison.

“I think both sides were at fault here. More questions should have been asked.

“More could have been done and the recall process could have taken place much earlier,” he added.

The probation service was under “huge pressure”, Mr Jones said, with about 250,000 people under its supervision across England and Wales.

“If you get the risk assessment right, it’s a little bit easier to make those decisions in those cases,” he added.

Following the inquest into Ms Aleena’s death, England and Wales’ Chief Probation Officer Kim Thornden-Edwards said steps taken since her murder included mandatory training to improve risk assessments and implementing new processes to ensure the swift recall of offenders.

“We will consider the coroner’s findings carefully and respond in due course,” she added.