A recent report from the police watchdog, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), has highlighted concerns about the Metropolitan Police’s efforts in finding missing children. The report mentioned instances where the force was slow to act or did not take any action at all to locate missing children, failing to thoroughly assess the risks they may face. Despite some improvements, the report emphasized the need for further enhancements in how the Met handles cases of sexual and criminal exploitation of children.
The HMICFRS report, which follows a previous inspection on the Met’s handling of child exploitation, pointed out various areas of concern. It noted that the force was not effectively assessing the risk of sexual exploitation, used inappropriate language, and was sluggish in responding to reports of runaways from local authority homes. However, the latest report acknowledged the Met’s renewed focus on child exploitation, improvements in investigating missing children, and the use of innovative techniques to expedite the search process.
One case highlighted in the report involved a 14-year-old boy who was a victim of criminal exploitation and had been missing for eight hours. Despite being reported as missing by his care provider after missing curfew, the force did not take any action to find him during this time. Similarly, a 15-year-old girl coerced into engaging in sexual acts at a hotel did not receive prompt investigations to trace the suspects, despite intelligence indicating they were exploiting other children. The report also mentioned ongoing issues with flagging and recording information about child risks and missed opportunities to escalate concerns with safeguarding partners.
The Metropolitan Police responded to the report by highlighting improvements in response times, better training, and increased resources to support vulnerable children. Cdr Kevin Southworth, the Met’s lead for public protection, acknowledged the progress made since the last inspection but emphasized the continuous commitment to safeguarding children. The Met has trained thousands of officers in identifying child exploitation and plans to expand its child exploitation teams as part of its Children Strategy
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