Report calls for united response to child abuse
MORE needs to be done to stop abusers preying on vulnerable young people in Gloucestershire, says a review which found that in some cases police knew abuse was happening but did not share the information.
A major report found that the authorities in Gloucestershire need to work together more to identify and then protect adolescents at risk until they are 25.
And the county also needs to step in to “disrupt” the activities of abusers who exploit vulnerable youngsters even if there is not evidence to prosecute, says the report.
The review looked at the experience of three serious cases of exploitation to test how Gloucestershire Safeguarding Children Partnership (GSCP) needed to improve.
It said even though the three victims had all received some level of support, they all “felt let down by the system”.
Gaps in communication were highlighted and the report said: “In the most serious cases the police became aware of sexual assaults on young people and did not share this information.”
It said the risk to children who went missing from home was a particular problem because they were often found with older men who were suspected to be perpetrators.
“As their location was known they did not meet the technical definition of ‘missing’, but were nonetheless in need of protection from potential abusers,” explained the report.
But the report also said as well as doing more to protect the young people at risk, the agencies need to do more to clamp down on abusers.
This includes a ‘gold standard’ of criminal investigation, enforcement of bail conditions and police investigations to disrupt offenders when there is not enough evidence to prosecute.
As well as developing an effective “disruption strategy”, the partnership should also consider investing money into training a lawyer in this area to bring more prosecutions, advised the review.
The report found that all three youngsters had similar histories involving domestic abuse, neglect and parents who misused alcohol and drugs or had mental health problems.
But while concerns involving exploited teenagers had previously been found and dealt with “quickly”, it was not as effective as it could be because it did not take account of the trauma victims have suffered.
The report was commissioned by the GSCP and led by independent consultant Mark Power to find out where improvements could be made in future years.
The review made recommendations for all members of the GSCP which is made up of Gloucestershire Constabulary, Gloucestershire County Council and the Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group.
One was for more effective practical and mental health support for youngsters who have experienced early childhood trauma.
The report added: “If improvements to safeguarding adolescents are to be delivered, a new multiagency exploitation strategy will be needed.”
Kevin Crompton, GSCP’s independent scrutineer, said: “We will be working closely with all agencies in the partnership to implement the recommendations from this review so that we can improve safeguarding practice to keep young people in Gloucestershire safe from harm.”
Gloucestershire Constabulary said that it had updated guidance and improved training in response to the report.
A spokesman said: “An audit of vulnerability identification screening tool forms has been completed and the findings from this are being used to improve training and challenge misconceptions amongst staff.
“More quality checks have also been put in place to ensure all relevant information is recorded and shared.”