Warwickshire Police told to improve child protection services

Better inquiries into the online sexual exploitation of children are needed, said inspectors

A police force has been told to improve its child protection services after inspectors found a third of cases were dealt with inadequately.

Better investigations into online sexual exploitation are needed at Warwickshire Police, a report said.

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) acknowledged the force had "dedicated officers and staff".

Assistant Chief Constable Ben Smith said resources had been increased.

Inspectors examined 74 cases in which police had identified children at risk.

"We assessed the force's child protection practice as good in 23 cases, requiring improvement in 23 cases, and inadequate in 28 cases," the report stated.

"This shows that the force needs to do more to give a consistently good service for all children," it added.

The report said since West Mercia Police announced their split from the force in 2018, it has left "skills gaps in its workforce".

Despite a 30% increase in officers since 2018 as part of the national police uplift programme, the report said many "frontline officers are inexperienced".

Many recruited during the pandemic were trained virtually which meant some lacked in "the necessary skills and training required to deal with vulnerable children", it said.

Warwickshire Police need to show an action plan of how they will work on the improvements given within six weeks

Specific areas for improvements include responses to children missing from home or care, including the initial assessment of risk and the quality and timeliness of inquiries.

The treatment of children detained in police custody also needs to improve, including making timely requests for appropriate adults and the use of alternative accommodation when children have been detained after charge.

HMICFRS said the force was effective in its relationships and contributions to multi-agency work, including working with other safeguarding organisations.

The force has been given six weeks to respond explaining what action it will be taking.

Warwickshire Police's Assistant Chief Constable Ben Smith said while they were pleased that "the report acknowledges our commitment to child protection", many of the improvements outlined were "expected" and many had already been "identified".

"We have increased the number of resources within the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Team (OCSET) to enable us to deal with the increase in online offending that we and many forces across the country are experiencing," he said.

"The force has also invested significant resources in establishing dedicated chid protection teams across the county such as our Child Abuse, Trafficking and Exploitation (CATE) team.

"The creation of these specialist teams has no doubt improved the quality of the most serious child protection investigations."