Petition calls for social workers to get body cams after Arthur Labinjo-Hughes death
A petition asking for all social workers to wear body-cams during home visits has been launched in memory of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes.
The six-year-old died at his home in Shirley, Solihull, in June 2020 after suffering horrendous abuse at the hands of his father and stepmother, both of whom have since been jailed over the death.
Arthur's Angels Charitable Trust has set up the petition on change.org and it has already received over 1,000 signatures.
The petition demands that body cameras be made mandatory for social workers on home visits, as this may help "spot unseen dangers to the child."
It says that "Home visits from social services are the most crucial time to save a child in danger."
It goes on to suggest that, "Most visits are announced so many things can be covered up and in the visit small details can be missed or over looked, with the help of body cams the visit can be looked at again from a different angle to spot things not seen by a social worker on a visit."
The sentences for Arthur's father and stepmother have been referred to the Court of Appeal by the attorney general as "unduly lenient." The appeal is due to be heard on 4 May.
His father, Thomas Hughes, was sentenced to at least 21 years in prison after he was convicted of manslaughter. Stepmother Emma Tustin was jailed for life with a minimum of 29 years for murder.
A nine week trial revealed that Arthur died from a fatal head injury but that he had suffered 125 separate injuries and had also been “poisoned with salt” in the hours before his collapse.
Arthur's grandmother had also previously called on social workers to wear body-cams.
The authors of the probe said "urgent action" was needed.
A national review is due to report back by the end of May.