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30
Mar 2022
North Yorkshire's chief constable apologises for child protection failings
North Yorkshire Police has apologised after government inspectors found the force’s standards of investigation for child protection cases were “poor”.
A highly critical report published yesterday by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services found that the force does not prioritise safeguarding and child protection highly enough.
It said standards of investigation in relation to child protection were poor and arrangements were not “consistently providing either the quality of service or a good enough response”.
The report said in some cases “highly vulnerable” children went missing from children’s homes, but officers would record those incidents as “cause for concern” rather than missing — which meant officers did not look for them.
Following the publication of the report, Lisa Winward, chief constable at North Yorkshire Police, apologised and said the force “fully accepted” the inspector’s findings.
She said:
Critical report
The report was particularly critical of the force's approach to children considered to be at risk.
Inspectors, who conducted the assessment from November 1 to 12 last year, examined 73 cases where children had been at risk. The report said:
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Another criticism was that the force doesn’t share information with safeguarding partners early enough.
HMIC made a number of recommendations, which included:
- speaking to children, recording their behaviour and demeanour, listening to their concerns and views, and using that information to make decisions about their welfare;
- supervising investigations to make sure the force pursues opportunities and avoids delaying cases unnecessarily; and
- promptly sharing information with safeguarding partners.
Zoe Metcalfe, North Yorkshire's Conservative Police Fire and Crime Commissioner, said the findings of the report were "unacceptable".
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