Agenda item

15.1  Dr. Billings, Police and Crime Commissioner, presented a report outlining actions resulting from the HMIC’s National Child Protection Inspection Post Inspection Review.  It was noted that the review was not specifically about Child Sexual Exploitation but child protection issues in general.

15.2  As part of a rolling programme of child protection inspections of all police forces in England and Wales, HMIC had published an initial report in September, 2014, which found that South Yorkshire Police had an inconsistent approach to child protection and improvements to the care of children in custody.  Following a post inspection review in April 2015, Inspectors were pleased to find:-

-          Improvements to the Force’s initial response when attending incidents involving children at risk

-          Child protection had been prioritised and there was a strong desire to improve outcomes for children who were at risk of harm

-          The Force was developing new joint working arrangements and structures to improve consistency across its four districts

However, Inspectors were concerned to find:-

-          That although the Force had undertaken a review of arrangements with care homes and provided guidance to Police staff, this had not resulted in improvements in practice

-          The Force was still failing to recognise risks to some children and work jointly with other agencies

-          That recording practices remained poor which limited the ability of staff to make good decisions about children

15.3  In accordance with Section 55(5) of the 1996 Police Act required Police and Crime Commissioners to prepare comments on any of the HMIC’s published reports that related to their Force and then publish in a manner they saw fit.  Section 55(6) required a copy of the comments be sent to the Home Secretary (attached at Appendix A of the report).

15.4  Discussion ensued on the report with the following comments raised/clarified:-

·           The Chief Constable had been requested to focus on all the areas highlighted in the report and to make improvements.

·           The question of children’s homes was a bigger issue in some districts more than others.  A bigger piece of work was required giving consideration to the relationship between them and Child Sexual Exploitation trafficking etc.

·           The Jay report had illustrated that a number of the vulnerable children were from children’s homes as they were deemed as easy targets but it was clear that many also came from good homes with very caring parents.  Agencies had to be very careful not to put all their focus onto one area.  Grooming was increasingly moving from the streets to the internet which required a different response and Police Officers with different skills/training.  New developments must not be lost sight of.

·           The Police had not waited for the results of the investigation but had been making improvements.  By the time of the report a number of the improvements required had been made.

·           The Commissioner’s role was to scrutinise the Police Force and ask what they were doing.  It was easy for an organisation like South Yorkshire Police to become so focussed on the recent events that it began to lose sight of what else might be happening. A learning organisation was one that did not simply focus on particular outcomes but must learn the lessons and be very careful.  At the moment it should think about the general environment and context within which it was working.  There was a big culture shift that had to take place not just in South Yorkshire Police but forces across the country.

Action:  That the report be noted.

Action:  That the OPCC feed into the workshop session the Commissioner’s relationship with the Police Force, current structure, the Governance and Assurance Board and information on what reports were routinely submitted to the Commissioner.