Arthur’s gran calls for social workers to wear bodycams
THE grandmother of tragic Arthur Labinjo-Hughes is backing a campaign calling on social workers to wear bodycams on home visits in the wake of the six-year-old’s death.
Madeline Halcrow urged people to sign a petition to help ensure no child ‘goes unseen’ after the tragedy in June 2020.
Arthur suffered shocking abuse at the home he shared with his brutal father, Thomas Hughes, and stepmother, Emma Tustin, in Cranmore Road, Shirley.
Tustin was jailed for life, and will serve at least 29 years, after she was convicted of murder.
Hughes will serve at least 21 years following his conviction for manslaughter.
Those minimum terms have been referred to the Court of Appeal by Attorney General Suella Braverman as “unduly lenient”.
Ms Halcrow, Arthur’s biological grandmother, is supporting the change.org petition, created by Arthur’s cousin. It demands body
cameras be made mandatory for all social workers on home visits to help “spot unseen dangers to the child”.
She said: “I’d like it signed by the public and passed on.
“Arthur’s cousin in London, who has set up Arthur’s Angels Charity, is campaigning for this on behalf of Arthur and Arthur’s Law.”
The petition, which places emphasis on the importance of home visits, hopes that footage viewed by many social workers after a visit could “save a child’s life”.
It said: “We believe that all social workers should be issued with body cameras on all home visits so the visit can be reviewed to spot any unseen dangers to the child and the appearance of the child. Home visits from social services are the most crucial time to save a child in danger.”
It added that most visits are ‘announced’ and therefore “so many things can be covered up”.
“Small details can be missed or overlooked, with the help of bodycams the visit can be looked at again from a different angle to spot things not seen by a social worker on a visit,” the petition continued.
The plea to sign the petition comes after a report into the state of safeguarding in Solihull found some children in need of help and protection were waiting too long to be assessed.
The findings of the probe said “urgent action” was needed.