'Prompt and effective action' needed to improve further how the Met protects children

HMICFRS has published the third of four quarterly updates on the Metropolitan Police Service’s preparedness to deal with child protection, following the publication of our initial report in December 2016.

The final report in January 2018 will draw together findings from the previous three reports, and provide an overall assessment of the progress made by the force in the year since the publication of the initial report.

Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary, Matt Parr, said:

“Building on the previous two reports, inspectors have seen continued improvement to the Met’s governance of child protection, despite the challenges and complexity of policing in London. For this report inspectors assessed the extent this strategic intent to improve had translated into better services to protect children.

“To do this, inspectors reviewed a sample of child protection cases. This found there were still significant weaknesses in the service provided to the children of London. Whilst inspectors recognise the scale of the task the Met faces, and would not necessarily expect to see immediate improvement in all areas, there is still clearly much work to do. The force now needs to take prompt and effective action to translate the strategic commitment into improving the service to children at risk of harm.”

Get the update report

Metropolitan Police Service – National child protection inspection post-inspection quarter 3 update