Wiltshire Police improves child protection procedures

Asst ch con Deb Smith said the force was "determined to improve our service and deliver improved justice outcomes"

A police force that was told to improve how it safeguards children has made positive changes, a report has said.

It comes after a review last year found Wiltshire Police needed to make "fundamental changes".

A new inspection said "considerable time, resources and energy" had been committed to improve outcomes for children.

But it said more work was needed, including being more consistent when responding to missing children reports.

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services added that it was still concerned that domestic abuse incidents were being investigated by personnel who were not appropriately trained and the management of registered sex offenders and the required supervision remained inconsistent.

Inspectors were satisfied senior leaders had plans in place to make the recommended changes

However, it found Wiltshire Police had improved in many areas, including taking prompt and effective action when dealing with child abuse investigations.

It also found the work done by the team responsible for dealing with child sexual exploitation had improved and frontline personnel were better at identifying risks to children.

"Wiltshire Police has made some good progress in response to our 2022 recommendations," inspectors said.

"But the force recognises that it still needs to improve in some areas to provide consistently better outcomes for children.

"As a result of internal quality assurance processes and review we are confident that the force understands where it needs to improve."

The inspectorate will continue to evaluate Wiltshire Police's performance in relation to the recommendations

Wiltshire Police's assistant chief constable Deb Smith said: "Protecting children is one of the most important things that we do, so I am pleased this updated report acknowledges the improvements we have worked hard to implement.

"Following our inspection in this area last year, we took prompt and comprehensive action to address a number of issues."

She explained this included training call handlers to spot signs of vulnerability in children and more than half the organisation receiving intensive training on the impacts of domestic abuse.

ACC Smith added: "Although there are many green shoots of positive practice within this report, we will not become complacent and we will continue to invest in and prioritise the way we protect children and vulnerable people."