Lancashire Constabulary demonstrates a clear commitment to
providing a good service for vulnerable children in need of
protection. However, it needs urgently to provide better
protection for those children most at risk, according to an
inspection report out today by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary
and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS).
The inspection was carried out in October 2017. It is one of a
rolling programme of child protection inspections of all police
forces in England and Wales.
Inspectors were pleased to find:
- multi-agency teams responsible for preventing child sexual
exploitation are improving outcomes for children through early
intervention and prevention activity;
- improvements to the way information is shared between the
police and other public sector organisations responsible for
safeguarding children. As a result, better plans are in place to
protect children; and
- the constabulary has a clear focus on reducing the
vulnerability of young people through its Early Action
initiative. This helps to prevent children from engaging in crime
and to provide support for them and their families.
However, inspectors were concerned to find:
- some of the constabulary’s basic processes for recording
child protection incidents are weak;
- many frontline officers see their responsibility for
safeguarding children as limited to identifying children as
vulnerable on the police system. This can result in missed
opportunities to protect children at the earliest opportunity;
and
- overall, the service provided to children in need of help
needs to improve.
HM Inspector of Constabulary for Lancashire Constabulary Matt
Parr said:
“Lancashire Constabulary and its senior leaders are committed to
providing the best service for vulnerable children. The force has
taken steps to improve information-sharing in each of the
multi-agency teams, which helps to improve outcomes for children
through early intervention and prevention activity.
“However, there were weaknesses in the constabulary’s approach to
child protection. Frontline officers do not always recognise
children in need of safeguarding at the earliest opportunity,
resulting in some children being exposed to the risk of harm.
Many of the departments and supervisors responsible for child
protection struggle to manage high levels of demand because of
workload pressures. This compromises effective investigations.
“Overall, Lancashire Constabulary is not yet providing a service
which is capable of safeguarding all children at risk of harm.
However, we were encouraged to note that following our inspection
the force has taken immediate steps to address the issues
identified. We will return to the constabulary in the next six
months to assess how it has responded to our recommendations.”
Notes:
- Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire &
Rescue Services (HMICFRS) is inspecting the child protection work
of every police force in England and Wales. The reports are
intended to provide information for the police, the police and
crime commissioner (PCC) and the public on how well children are
protected and their needs are met, and to secure improvements for
the future. In the last 12 months, HMICFRS has published reports
on:
HMCIFRS has also published the first quarterly
update, the second quarterly
update, the third quarterly
update and fourth quarterly
update on the Metropolitan Police Service response to
our report.
- Under the National Child Protection Inspection (NCPI)
programme, HMICFRS will assess how effectively each force in
England and Wales safeguards children and young people at risk,
make recommendations to forces for improving child protection
practice, highlight effective practice in child protection work
and drive improvements in forces’ child protection practice.
- Follow up activity by HMICFRS is an integral part of the NCPI
programme. It allows inspectors to assess the progress each force
is making in its work to improve services for the safety and
protection of children.
- In July 2015, HMICFRS published ‘In harm’s way: the role
of the police in keeping children safe’ – based on
findings from 21 inspections on the police response to child
protection conducted over the last two years. This incorporates
inspections from the first eight forces inspected under the
NCPI programme.
