Review of police cadet programmes urged as Greater Manchester officer is probed over sex claims
The police constable was arrested and bailed following complaints about his conduct,
Last updated 4th Dec 2018
Police forces have been told to carry out urgent reviews into their volunteer cadet programmes after an officer with Greater Manchester Police was accused of abusing his position for a "sexual purpose''.
The police constable was arrested and bailed following complaints about his conduct, and more potential victims have been identified, the IOPC said.
The watchdog is also investigating the conduct of a police sergeant at the same force and how they dealt with the reports of alleged abuse of power.
Meanwhile, the IOPC received a referral from the Metropolitan Police over "potential failures by three officers involved in the running of a cadet programme in the London region''.
The officers are being investigated for potentially failing to put in place immediate and appropriate safeguarding arrangements after being made aware that a volunteer cadet leader may have abused his position for a sexual purpose, the watchdog said.
A separate misconduct investigation is looking into allegations a Met officer abused his position for a sexual purpose at a London-based cadet training camp. He is also the subject of a criminal investigation.
The IOPC said the investigations, which are at an early stage, "involve serious and sensitive allegations''.
"We are sufficiently concerned by these two referrals to ask all police forces in England and Wales to urgently review their own Volunteer Police Cadet programmes to ensure they have robust safeguarding procedures in place,'' said IOPC deputy director general Ian Todd.
"Since we raised these concerns, the NPCC (National Police Chiefs' Council) lead for safeguarding has confirmed that he has contacted all chief constables to make sure this is prioritised.''
Volunteer police cadet programmes - also known as VPCs - are for young people aged 13 to 18 to learn more about policing.
The cadets usually meet once a week and also undertake social action projects in their community, such as fundraising for charity or taking part in road safety campaigns.
Mr Todd said the IOPC did not wish to "alarm'' any cadets or their families, adding: I must stress that the two investigations are unconnected and we have no information to indicate this may be a wider problem.
"However, some of the evidence emerging from these investigations indicates that there may have been opportunities to act sooner on the allegations that we are now investigating.''
NPCC lead for police cadets, Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer, said a new national safeguarding framework was being developed and vowed to act on any lessons that could be learned from the investigations.
"No young person involved in the police cadets should be subject to abuse of any kind and I urge anyone who has been, or anyone with concerns or information, to report it,'' he added.
Commander Mark McEwan, who leads on crime prevention, inclusion and engagement at the Met, said the force had carried out a full review of safeguarding and vetting in relation to the cadet programme.
"Meetings have been held with all VPC coordinators and supervisors about their safeguarding responsibilities, and compliance with policy,'' he added.
"Each Met borough has a dedicated Volunteer Cadet Programme coordinator assigned to it - something unique to the MPS - and all adults who work on the VPC programme have been subject to enhanced vetting checks, and receive additional safeguarding training.'