Terms of reference: Inspection of the Metropolitan Police Service’s handling of child exploitation
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Overview
In June 2023, the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime commissioned His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, under section 54(2BA) of the Police Act 1996, to inspect the Metropolitan Police Service’s (MPS) handling of child sexual exploitation (CSE) and child criminal exploitation (CCE).
In our inspection, we will address the following questions:
How well does the MPS understand the nature and scale of CSE and CCE?
We will consider how the MPS:
- defines CSE (including online CSE) and CCE as forms of child abuse;
- records and flags incidents, locations, victims and suspects linked to CSE and CCE; and
- understands the links between CSE, CCE, missing children and other criminality.
How effective is the MPS’s response to CSE and CCE?
We will consider:
- whether its structures and governance, in both local and specialist policing, enable the MPS to safeguard children, carry out thorough investigations, and work with partner agencies in an effective and child centred way;
- whether processes and systems for responding to CSE and CCE allow for effective information-sharing between frontline officers, specialist teams and safeguarding partnerships;
- how effective the MPS is at identifying children who have been victims of, or are vulnerable to, CSE and CCE, including how it recognises the additional risk posed to missing children and the contexts in which the MPS may first encounter them;
- how effective the MPS is at identifying, investigating and disrupting those suspected of child exploitation;
- how effectively the MPS uses intelligence and information on CSE and CCE, both internally and with its partner organisations, to identify and prevent exploitation at an early stage; and
- whether the MPS has enough personnel, with the right skills, training and experience needed to tackle CSE and CCE in a child-centred manner.
How well does the MPS support and safeguard victims and survivors?
We will consider:
- how the MPS treats children, including whether it adopts a sufficiently child-centred approach;
- whether MPS personnel can recognise and respond to CSE and CCE, including whether they have a good enough understanding of the connections between CSE, CCE, missing children and other criminality;
- how well the MPS follows the Victims’ Code in its provision of support to CSE and CCE victims and their families, including how well it refers victims to support services; and
- whether the MPS works effectively with partner organisations as part of local multi-agency safeguarding arrangements.
As part of our inspection, we will carry out the following activities:
- observations, interviews and focus groups with officers, staff and stakeholders;
- a document review, which includes relevant strategies, policies, guidance, meetings and minutes;
- data analysis; and
- a case file review of CSE, CCE and missing children cases.
We intend to report our findings by January 2024.
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Terms of reference: Inspection of the Metropolitan Police Service’s handling of child exploitation