Police force ‘still has work to do’ in child protection improvement
HUMBERSIDE POLICE has made some improvements to how it safeguards vulnerable children but “decisive and timely action” is needed in other areas, according to a new report.
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) today published its post-inspection review following a previous national child protection assessment of the force.
In terms of providing the best outcomes for children, only 26 per cent of the cases inspectors looked at were carried out to a good standard, they said.
However, the review acknowledges that the introduction of a new database system is partly responsible for the slow progress of improvements and outlined a number of instances where the force has bettered itself.
Det Supt Matt Hutchinson, of the force, yesterday said he was pleased with the positive findings but admitted there was “more to do”.
The latest inspection in autumn last year reviewed the progress made in the force since the publication of HMICFRS’s Humberside – National Child Protection Inspection in April 2017.
That previous report, which detailed findings from 2016, said the force was “not consistently protecting all children at risk”, pointing to “poor responses by some officers”, failures to pursue appropriate lines of enquiry, and “inadequate management and supervision arrangements and insufficient evidence of recognition of these deficiencies”.
Yesterday’s report states that the force has made improvements in the way it approaches its management of sex offenders, its assessment of risk and early referral, its approach to the recording and completion of protection documentation and control-room risk assessment and triage.
HM Inspector of Constabulary Matt Parr said there was still work to be done. He said: “Only 26 per cent of the cases we looked at were carried out to a good standard, with the rest graded as either requiring improvement or inadequate. This is a slight improvement on last year, but I am concerned with the pace of progress.
“Our inspection found that there is a real appetite for change in Humberside Police, but good intentions need to be backed up with decisive and timely action,” he added.