South Yorkshire police still falling short on child protection, says inspector
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Version 0 of 1. South Yorkshire police still need to make “major improvements” to child protection, three years after the Rotherham child sex abuse scandal, according to Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC). Ten months after a report which raised “serious concerns” over the force’s approach to child protection, HMIC said Yorkshire officers still had important work to do. “In September last year HMIC raised serious concerns about the way the force was approaching this kind of work, which was undermining the service it provides to children,” said Mike Cunningham, HM Inspector of Constabulary. “We carried out this post-inspection review in order to understand what progress South Yorkshire police had made since our initial inspection, and we found there were still areas that need major improvements.” Tuesday’s report followed an inspection review in April. It found improvements to the force’s initial response to incidents involving children at risk and a strong desire to improve outcomes for children at risk of harm. It also found that the force was developing new joint working arrangements and structures to improve consistency. But the inspectors found no improvements in the way officers dealt with children in care homes and that the force was still failing to recognise risks to some children. Recording practices also remained poor, which “limits the ability of staff to make good decisions about children”. South Yorkshire police were condemned in last year’s Jay report, which exposed how at least 1,400 children had suffered child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013. Prof Alexis Jay criticised officers for “regarding many child victims with contempt”. Her report provoked a series of high-profile resignations, including that of the South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Shaun Wright, who was the councillor overseeing children’s services from 2005 to 2010. The Independent Police Complaints Commission is currently investigating how South Yorkshire police officers dealt with cases in Rotherham. The National Crime Agency has begun a new investigation of allegations of child sexual exploitation in the town. Assistant Chief Constable Ingrid Lee said safeguarding children was “paramount” for South Yorkshire police but more needed to be done. She said: “There has been a considerable increase in the number of police officers and staff in our public protection units, and also staff dedicated to tackling child sexual exploitation. We are absolutely committed to achieving justice, stopping harm and preventing future offending.” The force had 164 live investigations into CSE and seven people had recently been arrested. Karen Froggatt, director for child victims of sexual exploitation at the independent charity Victim Support, said it was “extremely concerning” that officers were failing to recognise abuse. She said: “There’s an urgent need for a shift in attitude from all agencies to recognise that young people are vulnerable and that often drugs, alcohol and threats play a part in the lead-up to abusive behaviour.” |