Police forces fail vulnerable victims
THREE quarters of police forces in England and Wales are letting down vulnerable victims of crime, including the elderly and the disabled, a watchdog warns today.
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) names in a report four forces rated “inadequate” in the way they protect the vulnerable.
Only 12 forces out of the 43 are rated “good”, with the other 27 judged “requiring improvement”. None is ranked “outstanding”. The HMIC said even small failures could have “tragic consequences”.
Zoe Billingham, an HMIC inspector, said: “There are a whole range of issues that constitute whether a victim is vulnerable – age is an issue, of course, and so is disability. It is these people the police need to move their resources to because they are at highest risk of harm.”
The inspectors highlight concerns about special police units, which are designed to protect vulnerable people, being overstretched.
They found teams are understaffed due to large numbers of vacant posts, maternity leave or long-term sickness absence. Expert officers are also being diverted on to other duties and some forces rely on “on-call” personnel at weekends or overnight.
The findings come after a linked inquiry revealed that units dedicated to domestic abuse are on the verge of being “overwhelmed” following a 31 per cent rise in reported cases.
Inspectors examined how forces respond to and safeguard those who are vulnerable in some way, with a focus on missing and absent children, and victims of domestic abuse, and how well prepared they are to tackle child sexual exploitation. The report, published today, finds: There is a lack of high-quality data across the police service in relation to vulnerable people, with eight forces not collecting information at all.
Risk assessments are not conducted in some cases because staff are given “discretion” over whether they should be completed.
Processes to identify children at risk in households where domestic abuse takes place are not reliable or effective.
Victims are not being provided with updates on cases.
Variations in how forces define and collect data on missing children mean some do not have a good understanding of the problem in their area.
Implementation of measures to tackle child sex abuse is “patchy”.
Inspectors collected data, reviewed case files, observed meetings and heard from domestic abuse victims before grading forces on their effectiveness at protecting vulnerable people.
Bedfordshire, Essex, Staffordshire and Surrey constabularies were judged to be “inadequate” – meaning there were “serious weaknesses” in their arrangements to safeguard and investigate cases involving vulnerable people.