North Yorkshire Police: Third of detective roles are vacant

North Yorkshire Police's chief constable said work is taking place to speed up the training of new detectives

The chief constable of North Yorkshire Police has said a third of the force's detective posts are currently vacant.

It comes after the police watchdog said the standard of its investigations into child protection matters, including sexual exploitation, was "poor".

A report found child sex abuse cases were given "inappropriately to inexperienced officers".

Chief Constable Lisa Winward said the force had acted quickly to make improvements.

A recent inspection found inexperienced officers were handling some child abuse investigations

Ms Winward said there were currently about 40 vacant detective posts across the force, which is a third of the total roles.

She told a meeting of the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Panel that the organisation did not have enough resources, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime commissioner Zoe Metcalfe said "every effort" was being made to address gaps in resources and to "make sure all the police officers have the skills they need".

• North Yorkshire Police apologises over child protection failings

An inspection by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) in November 2021 found the organisation did not consistently provide a good enough response to effectively safeguard children.

Ms Winward said the report was being taken "extremely seriously".

She said work was taking place to speed up the process of training staff to become detectives and a policy had been introduced to ensure investigations could no longer be handed to someone lacking the right skills.

Mrs Metcalfe said the force was "taking account of children's views" and that young people were being listened to.