West Yorkshire Police criticised for 'inconsistent' responses in child protection report

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HMIC
Tuesday 13 January 2015 at 5:46am

HMIC: Force's response to child abuse 'inconsistent'

An inspection into child protection processes at West Yorkshire Police has found the force's response to be "inconsistent" across the county.

The inspections were carried out by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of the Constabulary (HMIC) across all police forces in England and Wales to assess how well children are protected in each areas.

Inspectors were concerned that:

In difficult, complex or prolonged cases the response was often weak, with delays in investigations;
The response to child sexual exploitation was inconsistent across the force area;
Poor recording on police systems;
Children were being unnecessarily detained in police custody overnight;
A lack of a force-wide understanding of the demand generated by child protection issues.

However, the force was commended in the following areas:

A clear commitment to improving child protection services;
Staff responsible for managing child abuse investigations were knowledgeable, committed and dedicated to providing the best outcomes for the child;
Officers responded quickly to clear and specific concerns about the immediate safety of children; and
Good relationships with partner agencies and local safeguarding children boards.

Mike Cunningham from HMIC told ITV News that there were several areas which needed improvement:

West Yorkshire Police cases were scrutinised in areas of initial contact, assessment and help, investigation, decision making, trusted adults, managing those posing a risk to children and police detention.

Of 33 cases assessed internally, practice was viewed as good by theforce assessors in 17 of the cases, adequate in 8, inadequate in 3 and the remaining 5 were assessed as requiring improvement.

However, in the same 33 cases, HMIC inspectors found 9 cases to be good, 8 adequate, 7 requiring improvement and 10 inadequate.

In a further 64 cases, HMIC inspectors rated 17 as good, 20 adequate, 12 requiring improvement and 15 inadequate.

The report found that initial contact with children considered to be at risk was good, but officers were told to improve on awareness of a child's demeanour during cases of domestic abuse.

The force's record in assessment and help was inconsistent though when other agencies were involved. While initial measures were rated good, long term involvement was lacking in some areas, with Leeds highlighted as one of the worst.

Of 160 case conferences arranged in the Leeds area, officers attended just 8. This is compared with 3 of 66 in Bradford, 13 of 45 in Kirklees, 10 out of 59 in Wakefield and 30 of 38 in Calderdale. One case is highlighted where police evidence not submitted at a conference in Bradford could have contributed to the overall protection of the child concerned.

In cases of high risk missing children, police responses were "invariably high" but in cases of lower risk children, inspectors found "cause for concern".

The report recommends that West Yorkshire Police immediately reviews attendance at case conferences and records decisions reached at the meetings.

Officers' ability to effectively investigate cases may be compromised however by high workloads. The report found a "significant drift if the investigation required more to be done, such as gathering further evidence and interviewing other witnesses."

It continues, "In some areas, workloads and delays in investigations prevented a consistently high standard of service."

Concerns were also raised about the recording of information, the time it took to investigate high-tech crime and measures taken to manage the risk posed by suspects.

West Yorkshire Police's detention record was questioned after 16 children were detained and charged by officers, but in four cases the local authority was not contacted to provide accommodation. One 16-year-old was in police detention for a total of 41 hours over one weekend. The HMIC report recommended that West Yorkshire Police only detain children "when absolutely necessary and for the absolute minimum amount of time."

In a statement, West Yorkshire Police said:

Protecting and safeguarding children is West Yorkshire Police’s top priority and we are absolutely committed to doing everything that we possibly can to minimise the risks to children and ensure that they receive an appropriate level of care and are protected from harm. We will continue to build effective relationships with both statutory and voluntary partners and work closely with them to safeguard vulnerable children and take positive action against those who abuse or neglect children. HMIC visited the Force in August 2014, whilst we were in the throes of a comprehensive review of our safeguarding units and looking at enhancing service delivery, refining our structures and better managing our demand with a view to providing a consistently high quality service to protect children across the five districts of West Yorkshire. Within West Yorkshire Police we have increased resources dedicated to investigating these offences including appointing more staff to tackle child sexual exploitation across all districts and improved multi -agency working with partners in local authorities and charities to ensure joined up approaches to safeguarding. There are safeguarding teams in each of the county’s five district policing areas which are focused on dealing with all issues around child protection including sexual and physical abuse, child sexual exploitation, children missing from home, child neglect and harm. The HMIC has identified issues relating to the recording of updates on internal police systems after crimes and reports from victims have been recorded - this is being reviewed. West Yorkshire Police would like to reassure victims that all crimes are taken seriously, recorded appropriately and investigated thoroughly. These are complex and resource intensive enquiries and police work closely with the Rape and Serious Sexual Offences team within the Crown Prosecution Service to ensure proper consideration of available evidence when there is a possibility of proceeding to court. A dedicated Detective Inspector now works alongside reviewing lawyers to ensure any issues can be immediately identified to streamline the process and provide a better service. We are liaising with our partners in relation to the availability of secure beds outside a police environment. We have also majored on campaigns to raise awareness of child protection issues such as “Know The Signs” which focusses upon child sexual exploitation and “Do you know who you're really talking to? which is aimed at raising awareness of child exploitation on line. >