UPDATE: 12.15pm

A spokesman for Gwent Police said the force 'welcomed' the findings of the IPCC report adding that 'all recommendations from the report have already been implemented'.

He said in response to the recommendations the force has since:

Set up a record management system which has a built-in process for attaching markers to individual names as well as addresses. Additionally if a firearms holder is involved in a domestic incident, the firearms licensing team will automatically be notified and further checks are made.

A stalking screening tool has been added to their crime recording system with training for all officers which is monitored on a monthly basis.

A local domestic abuse policy and procedure has been implemented which includes working practices and advice to officers first on the scene on an incident. This includes details of the risk assessment processes for Domestic Abuse Stalking and Harassment.

Work has been carried out to ensure a consistent approach across the force regarding the completion of Domestic Abuse Stalking and Harassment forms, the accuracy of appropriate risk assessments and the sharing of this information.

UPDATE: 11.03am

Improvements need to be made to the way Gwent Police handle stalking and harassment cases according to the IPCC report published today.

The report highlighted how officers failed to make referrals to the Firearms Licensing Department which might have led to Christopher Parry’s firearms licence being withdrawn before the fatal shooting.

IPCC Commissioner Jan Williams said: “This was a callous, brutal murder that devastated Caroline’s family and friends. Our investigation found weaknesses and shortcomings in how Gwent Police handled this case and it is not the first time the IPCC has raised concerns over how the force responds to domestic abuse cases. The force has given a higher priority to domestic abuse cases, but I am urging senior officers again to ensure they take all necessary steps to improve their performance.”

The report found:

• Officers who responded to incidents involving the couple were not in possession of all relevant information about their past history. A risk assessment should have classified Caroline Parry as being at high risk of serious harm;

• More consideration should have been given to Christopher Parry’s coercive and controlling behaviour, as a feature of the domestic abuse he was perpetrating;

• The way the force used firearms warning markers made victims vulnerable; markers only appeared on incident logs if the report was made from the address to which the firearms certificate was registered. Victims of domestic abuse who are estranged from their partners will invariably live at a different address, and so may not benefit from the degree of protection given by such markers which are important in alerting officers to a potential risk;

• While Mr Parry had held his firearms certificate legally for some years, the number of troubling indicators about his behaviour, together with the incidents in May 2013, should have prompted a firearms licensing referral. This would have triggered suitability checks.

The investigation concluded that one officer had a case to answer for misconduct, which Gwent Police had already dealt with the matter by way of management action, and there were "performance issues" for two other police constables.

The report makes a number of recommendations concerning domestic abuse policies and the need for a systematic approach to stalking and harassment training.

UPDATE: 9.55am

The results of a probe into contact Gwent Police had with a man who shot dead his estranged wife on a Newport street were released today.

An IPCC review was opened after Cwmbran man Christopher Parry murdered his wife Caroline Parry on Seabreeze Avenue on August 8 last year.

The inquiry looked at how police dealt with three incidents involving the pair before the murder.

After the shooting, IPCC Commissioner for Wales Tom Davies said: “Our investigation will look specifically at three incidents between May and July [2013] that the police were involved with to establish how they were risk assessed and how Gwent Police officers dealt with them and whether it had linked the incidents.

“Mr Parry held a firearms licence and our investigation will also seek to establish what police action was taken in relation to his licence for shotguns following the reports of the earlier incidents.

Christopher Parry was jailed for 26 years after he was found guilty at Newport Crown Court.

He denied murdering his wife saying he wanted only to shoot himself to show her how much he loved her.