Gloucestershire Police inadequate with child safeguarding measures
An inspection found the force needs to urgently improve its response to children at risk.
Gloucestershire Police have been told they must urgently improve how they safeguard children at risk.
It comes after an inspection conducted by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS).
The inspectorate graded Gloucestershire Constabulary’s performance across five areas which included assessing how well it safeguards children who are at risk.
It found the force was ‘adequate’ in one area, ‘requires improvement’ in one area and ‘inadequate’ in three areas.
Three causes for concern were identified in the inspection which included the constabulary’s leadership of child protection, how it records incidents when children are missing and how it investigates incidents involving children.
Inspectors say they had serious concerns with officers and staff not always taking a child-centred approach when investigating incidents and regularly found delays in starting investigations, with enquiries often not pursued.
As a result, inspectors saw many poor outcomes for children.
His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Michelle Skeer said:
“It was positive to see Gloucestershire Constabulary working well with its safeguarding partners, but in other areas, I have concerns about its work to protect children.
“The constabulary doesn’t have effective governance arrangements for child protection across its area. Leaders aren’t clear on their strategic work on improving outcomes for children. There are also serious concerns with the way the constabulary records its reports of vulnerable missing children. It has been aware of these concerns for some time but has been too slow in addressing them.
“The constabulary needs to improve how it manages, supervises and carries out investigations when children are abused, neglected or exploited. Officers and staff don’t always take a child-centred approach when investigating incidents involving children.
“I recognise there has been some instability in the senior team, but I have received assurances from the temporary chief constable that leaders are taking the findings very seriously and are determined to oversee improvements. I will closely monitor progress in Gloucestershire Constabulary over the coming months.”
Gloucestershire Police say they are taking decisive action to bring about rapid change to how they safeguard children at risk in response to the report.
They say the information provided from the inspectorate has since been used to develop an improvement plan.
The action they are taking includes launching the Gloucestershire Rapid Improvement Plan, ensuring greater scrutiny and by introducing a monthly Crime and Vulnerability Performance Board and increasing the number of investigators in thier specialist investigation teams.
Assistant Chief Constable Richard Ocone, lead for Crime, Justice and Vulnerability, said: “Children and young people are some of the most vulnerable members of society and it’s essential we do everything we can to keep them safe.
“We accept HMICFRS’ findings and recognise we have work to do to address the concerns identified in its report and to deliver the improvements required.
“The steps we’ve already taken will help us ensure we’ve the necessary specialist skills and resources in place to protect children from harm; to respond to and investigate incidents involving them; and that appropriate leadership and oversight is maintained for all child protection matters.
“The safeguarding of children in Gloucestershire is a key priority for the Constabulary and we’ll continue to work with HMICFRS, as well as with our partners, to improve.”