HMIC has today published an inspection report into the child
protection work carried out by Leicestershire Police, following
an inspection in February 2017. This is part of a rolling
programme of child protection inspections of all police forces in
England and Wales.
Protecting children is one of the most important tasks that the
police undertake. Only the police can investigate suspected
crimes and arrest perpetrators. Police officers have the power to
take a child who is in danger into a place of safety, or to seek
an order to restrict an offender’s contact with children. The
police service has a significant role working with other agencies
to ensure the child’s protection and long term well-being.
Although Leicestershire Police is clearly committed to improving
its child protection arrangements, at the time of the inspection
HMIC found that the service to children still needed to improve
in some important areas.
Inspectors were pleased to find:
- · good
multi-agency working arrangements to encourage collaboration and
sharing of information relating to child protection;
-
· provision
of over 2,000 sessions (since 2016) of protecting vulnerable
people training throughout the force;
-
· production
of a powerful video campaign to raise public awareness of the
risks of child grooming.
However, inspectors were concerned to find:
-
· ineffective
identification and management of some instances of child sexual
exploitation;
- · the
downgrading of some high risk domestic abuse incidents, which
potentially exposed victims to further risk;
- · the
force's response to children who regularly go missing from home
requires improvement, in particular in understanding the links
between children who regularly go missing and sexual
exploitation.
HM Inspector of Constabulary Zoë Billingham
said:
“It is clear that there is a real commitment within the force to
protect children, with work already being undertaken to rectify
the issues we found during our inspection. I was encouraged by
the strong partnership working arrangements across the force
area, with collaboration and innovation demonstrated in improving
protection for children.
"There are some vitally important areas the force needs to
improve upon however, and I am keen to see this dedication and
commitment translate into improved services for children. I would
like to see the force develop its approach to the identification
and prevention of child sexual exploitation. I was particularly
concerned to find high-risk cases of domestic abuse being
downgraded. We identified a number of examples where downgrading
was wholly inappropriate, which potentially exposed victims and
their families to greater risk. I am encouraged that the force
has taken steps to ensure this doesn't happen, and are reviewing
previous cases that had been downgraded. However, it is
concerning that this was happening in the first place.
"The force has been responsive to our findings, and I am
confident it understands the task ahead of it. I expect to see
the force build on the good work it is doing in certain areas,
and ensure the recommendations HMIC has made are swiftly
addressed. I shall be closely monitoring the force's progress, in
particular its review of previously downgraded domestic abuse
cases."
Notes to editors
- · Her
Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) 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, HMIC
has published reports on:
Cumbria constabulary–
published January 2017
Metropolitan Police
Service – published December 2016
Devon and Cornwall
Police post-inspection review – published
July 2016
South Wales
Police - post-inspection review – published June
2016
- · Under
the National Child Protection Inspection (NCPI) programme, HMIC
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 HMIC 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. HMIC aims to revisit each force no later than six
months after the publication of the initial NCP inspection report
to assess how it is managing the implementation of the
recommendations.
- · In
July 2015, HMIC 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.
