Greater Manchester Police has improved how it investigates child sexual exploitation, but needs to address gaps in training
Greater Manchester Police has made significant improvements to how it understands and investigates child sexual exploitation, but needs to make sure investigators have the necessary skills for their roles, the police inspectorate has said.
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His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has published an inspection examining Greater Manchester Police and its safeguarding partners’ approach to investigating allegations of child criminal exploitation and child sexual exploitation. It was commissioned by Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham in 2024 and focuses on the current and ongoing provision for investigating allegations of child criminal and sexual exploitation.
HMICFRS found the force has a strong multi-agency approach to investigating child sexual exploitation. It introduced the child sexual exploitation major incident team, made up of 98 investigators to investigate missed opportunities in non-recent cases. It has significant resources committed to support these investigations, which affect some of the most vulnerable people.
The force has good strategic and operational leadership and governance arrangements in place for investigations. For example, the force requests and welcomes constructive challenge from national advisors and subject matter experts.
However, inspectors said that the force is aware of various training gaps in the investigation team. It needs to put an updated training plan in place to make sure personnel have the necessary skills for their roles.
The inspectorate said that the peer review programme largely meets its objectives and works alongside other activities to quality assure safeguarding responses to child exploitation. But HMICFRS said that the use of different case file audit tools for children’s social care, health and police records meant that the peer reviewers didn’t record and evaluate sector-level information consistently.
Inspectors also reviewed all force records of the 74 children identified by Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s independent review team as potential victims and survivors of child sexual exploitation. In some cases, they found failings in the way the force initially supported victims and survivors and carried out investigations. And as a result, some victims’ cases weren’t adequately investigated.
HMICFRS said that since the initial victim and survivor engagement, the force had made considerable effort to work with and support victims and survivors of child sexual exploitation. It had revisited the information and the quality of service it had previously provided. However, for some individuals who had been let down by Greater Manchester Police at the initial contact stage, the force was unable to rectify the issues they had experienced.
Michelle Skeer, His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary said:
“Child sexual abuse and exploitation have a devastating effect on children and their families; the impact can be lifelong. Public services, including the police, have a shared responsibility to look for the warning signs, be alert to the risks and act quickly to protect some of the most vulnerable in our society.
“We found that since 2019, when Greater Manchester Police started to review its non-recent child sexual exploitation investigations, the force has improved its understanding and approach to investigating allegations of child criminal and sexual exploitation. However, there are various training gaps amongst the investigation team and the force needs to do more to address these.
“It was positive to see that the Greater Manchester complex safeguarding peer review programme contributes positively to multi-agency practice to reduce the risk of child exploitation. But we found that the quality of peer reviews varied as according to the practitioners’ skills, as well inconsistences in the use of case file audit tools. Processes must be applied more consistently, to maintain the integrity of the peer review process and improve the review findings.
“Our inspection team also viewed all force records about the 74 children considered likely to have been sexually exploited between 2003 and 2013. We identified failings in some of the initial victim and survivor engagement and investigations. We found there were occasions where potential victims weren’t assessed as vulnerable, and therefore they weren’t offered the support they needed and deserved.
“It is clear that that the force has for many years been trying to provide a better service to those who have or may have experienced sexual exploitation. But for some, trust and confidence in the police had been lost, and the force would not be able to rectify their experiences.
“Victims often live with the trauma of child sexual exploitation for a considerable time, or for life. Many victims and survivors may reach adulthood before they feel they can tell someone and ask for support. It is vital that improvements are led by victims’ experiences, and if they do come forward, they are supported, protected and taken seriously.”
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Notes
- For further information, please contact the HMICFRS Press Office on 0300 071 6781 or HMICPressOffice@hmicfrs.gov.uk.
- The report was commissioned by Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham in 2024 and focuses on the current and ongoing provision for investigating allegations of child criminal and sexual exploitation.