Derbyshire Constabulary: Improvements needed to child protection

HMICFRS inspectors first reviewed Derbyshire Police in 2021

Police in Derbyshire still have work to do, despite making improvements on how it safeguards and protects children, a report has said.

Derbyshire Constabulary was revisited by the police inspectorate after a 2021 report found systemic failings.

Inspectors said the force had made progress against 12 recommendations listed in the previous report.

While none of the objectives have been "fully achieved", the force said it had made "concerted efforts" to improve.

'Significant'

In the most recent report, His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said senior leaders were prioritising the force's approach to vulnerability and there was a clear structure in place to scrutinise and oversee all aspects of child protection.

But it said there were still significant improvements to be made in working with other agencies to protect children, delays in gathering digital evidence, and a lack of experienced and fully trained detectives in the public protection department.

The 2021 report found that out of 79 cases where children had been at risk, good practice was followed for 20 cases, with 31 recorded as requiring improvement and 28 rated inadequate.

Inspectors said that though senior officers attended meetings with other agencies there was "little evidence of effective multi-agency operational activity to safeguard children".

Roy Wilsher said he was pleased with the progress but significant improvements were still needed

His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary Roy Wilsher said: "I am pleased with some of the progress that Derbyshire Constabulary has made following the urgent improvements we identified in last year's inspection.

"But, overall, the force's child protection arrangements still need to improve to provide a good enough response to effectively safeguard children in Derbyshire.

"None of our recommendations from 2021 have been fully achieved.

"The force needs to consolidate the areas where it has made progress and we still need to see significant improvements to other aspects of its child protection arrangements, including how effectively it works with partner agencies."

HMICFRS said specific areas for the force to improve included:

• better processes to assess and share information with other organisations to help protect children

• effective oversight of the team managing sexual offenders and violent offenders

• increased numbers of experienced and fully trained investigators in the public protection department

• systems to prioritise and arrange the arrest of high-risk offenders

• reduced delays in digital forensic examinations

• better availability and use of intelligence and for exploited children

Deputy Chief Constable Kate Meynell said: "Following the initial inspection in 2021, we have made a concerted effort to improve our response to child abuse, and the way in which we safeguard and protect children.

"We now have a missing and exploitation unit, with dedicated officers, and this has improved our response to missing people and those who are vulnerable. This is an area we are looking to continue to further improve and build upon.

"We are also invested in protecting children online and have restructured our teams to ensure we have experienced and fully-trained officers investigating individuals who prey on vulnerable children online.

"While we have made good progress, there is still work for us to do and we are committed to ensuring we achieve these recommendations."