Wiltshire Police 'making improvements' in the way they protect children

His Majesty's Inspectorate has been checking over the force once again

Author: Faye TryhornPublished 15th Sep 2023

A new report's found Wiltshire Police in making 'improvements' in the way they protect children.

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) revisited the force in April, following a National Child Protection Inspection last year.

The 2022 inspection concluded Wiltshire Police needed to make fundamental changes in order to improve some areas of child protection practices.

The revisit, which was not graded, gave the force the opportunity to demonstrate improvements we have made at each stage of our interactions with children.

HMICFRS have now published their post-inspection review which acknowledges a number of improvements.

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. This included a significant investment in and delivery of enhanced training across the organisation – from our call handlers knowing what signs of vulnerability to spot in children right through to over half our organisation receiving intensive training around domestic abuse -specifically on the impacts of domestic abuse on children.

“We have reintroduced detective roles back into our Child Abuse Investigation Teams and we’ve invested in our auditing functions so we have a richer understanding of the quality of our investigation work.

“As an organisation, we are determined to improve our service and deliver improved justice outcomes.”

HMICFRS have set out from further areas for improvement though.

Inspectors said further focus is required in relation to missing children and domestic abuse incidents involving children; and that the force needs to better understand demands and the resources available.

Wiltshire Police say they 'agree with these reflections' and have been working hard to improve.

ACC Smith said:

“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.”

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