Register of children at risk ‘not f it for purpose’
CHILDREN could be at serious risk of harm because of councils’ failure to protect the most vulnerable youngsters.
The police officer in charge of combating child abuse in Scotland has cast doubts over whether or not the child protection register is fit for purpose.
Assistant Chief Constable Malcolm Graham, who is in charge of major crime and public protection at Police Scotland, questioned whether the register, a record of children at risk of harm kept by every council, is relevant in an age where the danger to children has moved online.
Mr Graham said there was a lack of consistency between local authorities on the way registers were managed, and added: ‘There is a question mark over the purpose and the effectiveness of the child protection register in local authority areas in an age where things have moved on substantially in terms of recognising welfare concerns, and also when children are at risk and action that can be taken.
‘We need to make sure the child protection register is still effective and relevant in that context. I would like there to be greater clarity about what it means [to be on the register].’
Successive investigations after the deaths of children known to social services have promised that lessons would be learned.
Cases which have sparked criticism of the authorities include that of Caleb Ness, killed by his father in Edinburgh in 2003; the 2008 death of 23- month- old Brandon Muir in Dundee after suffering weeks of beatings by his mother’s boyfriend; and Mikaeel Kular, three, who was beaten to death by his mother in Edinburgh two years ago.
Last month, police said the number of investigations into the sexual exploitation of children online had almost doubled, with 850 cases identified in 2015, compared with 496 the previous year.
Mr Graham said: ‘If a child is on the child protection register, what does that mean in terms of what action is going to be taken? And if there are trends identified in areas of numbers of children either i ncreasing or decreasing on child protection registers, what does that tell us?
‘Because at the moment I see trends going up and down in different areas and it doesn’t readily lead you to a conclusion as to whether that is a good or a bad thing. Sometimes it’s a subject of decision-making about what the threshold is for people going on the register in different areas.’
Last week the Scottish Government announced a major review of the child protection system.
Responding to this, Mr Graham said: ‘I particularly welcome the focus on significant case reviews and that process, ensuring greater transparency and consistency about learning lessons from significant incidents.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We are planning a review of the key elements of the formal child protection system in Scotland, which i ncludes t he chil d protection register.’
‘I would like there to be greater clarity’