Home / Crime and Justice / Staffordshire Police: Child Protection Needs Urgent Fix
Staffordshire Police: Child Protection Needs Urgent Fix
5 Dec
Summary
- Staffordshire Police must improve child protection investigations and responses.
- Inspectors found shortcomings in online exploitation and out-of-hours responses.
- The force is committed to addressing improvements within eight weeks.
Staffordshire Police faces significant scrutiny following an inspection by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) into its child protection practices. The watchdog identified critical areas requiring improvement, particularly concerning the investigation of child abuse, neglect, and exploitation, as well as the force's out-of-hours response to unexpected child deaths.
Despite investing in its public protection unit and creating new posts, progress has been deemed slow in key areas. HMICFRS highlighted the need for better recording of demographic details like ethnicity to assess risks effectively and improved handling of missing children cases. The force has been directed to enhance its investigative procedures for online child sexual exploitation.
Staffordshire Police has pledged to address these findings promptly, emphasizing that safeguarding children is paramount. They highlighted areas of strength, such as information sharing with schools and proactive work against exploitation. A detailed action plan outlining the specific improvements will be submitted to HMICFRS within the next eight weeks, with ongoing monitoring expected.
