Warwickshire – National child protection inspection post-inspection review

Introduction

Our 2022 inspection

In February 2022, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) inspected how well Warwickshire Police keeps children safe.

We made eight recommendations in the Warwickshire – National child protection inspection report.

The 2023 post-inspection review

In late February and early March 2023, we returned to the force to carry out a post-inspection review.

During this inspection we:

• examined force policies, strategies and other documents;
• interviewed senior leaders, managers, supervisors, officers and staff; and
• audited 34 child protection cases (9 cases were good, 15 required improvement and 10 were inadequate).

Summary of findings from the post-inspection review

We were pleased to see that Warwickshire Police has committed considerable time, resources and energy to improving outcomes for children and making changes in line with our recommendations.

It has carried out a review of its structures and staffing levels and has markedly increased the number of investigators dealing with child abuse investigations.

The force has provided specialist training to support these officers and staff. And it has produced guidance documents and videos for a variety of child protection issues.

The force has also provided training to help officers and staff working in the operational command centre (OCC) (also known as the force control room) make better decisions.

It has responded promptly to review the diary appointment system to make sure children are properly safeguarded.

It has changed the agenda of daily management meetings to focus on child protection. And these meetings now give better oversight of cases where children are missing, in police protection, or in custody. The force has also introduced better processes for oversight.

We found Warwickshire Police has improved in many areas, particularly:

• taking prompt action when investigating online child sexual abuse and exploitation;
• managing registered sex offenders and sharing information with frontline staff;
• sharing information with statutory safeguarding partners about risks to children; and
• the use and recording of police protection powers.

However, we found the following areas still require improvement:

• The force’s response when children are reported missing is inconsistent.
• The force doesn’t focus well enough on children’s welfare when they are arrested and keeps them at the police station after charge when it shouldn’t.

Initial contact

Initial contact: Recommendations from the 2022 inspection report

We recommend that Warwickshire Police immediately reviews the OCC response to incidents where children are involved. It should make sure that the response reflects the identified level of risk, including continuing or escalating risk.

We recommend that within three months Warwickshire Police acts to make sure that children’s concerns and views are obtained and recorded (including noting their behaviour and demeanour).

Initial contact: Summary of post-inspection review findings

The force has improved how it uses scheduled diary appointments. Call handlers are better at using risk assessment tools but they still miss some risks and vulnerabilities.

The force has encouraged officers and staff to speak to children to understand and record their views and concerns. This practice has improved. But it isn’t yet consistent; particularly when children go missing, are taken into police protection or are detained.

Initial contact: Detailed post-inspection review findings

The force has improved how it uses scheduled diary appointments

Soon after our inspection the force reviewed how the OCC uses the diary system. This involves making an appointment to see a caller at a later date. Responses to incidents involving domestic abuse or child safeguarding concerns should only use the diary when necessary and authorised by a supervisor.

In the cases we reviewed, we found only six incidents related to domestic abuse. The low number suggests officers and staff understand the policy. All cases had been authorised in line with the force’s expectations. We considered that in five of six cases it was appropriate for officers to see the caller at a later date.

We also reviewed a sample of the appointments to make sure officers saw callers face-to-face when necessary. In all cases, we found that officers and staff visited those callers.

Call handlers are better at using risk assessment tools but they still miss some risks and vulnerabilities

The force has invested time and effort into providing further training for the officers and staff who work in the OCC. They have paid particular attention to helping call handlers understand the THRIVE model and how to apply it when assessing risk.

The force has also introduced an aide-mémoire for call handlers. This reminds them to ask if children are present, so that their decision-making takes account of all risks and vulnerabilities.

In addition, call handlers now have access to the Athena system so they can conduct research about people and places connected to the incident. We saw several examples where call handlers had used Athena to gather further information.

However, we continued to see examples where:

• the risk identified didn’t have enough impact on the response;
• risk was missed altogether; or
• the vulnerability of those involved wasn’t considered.

For example, one case involved an allegation that a child had been physically abused. OCC staff missed this information and a diary appointment was made (as seen in the previous section). In another case, the call handler recognised that risk would increase if an offender returned to the caller’s address. But when the offender did return, this didn’t prompt an increased level of response.

Officers and staff are better at speaking to children and recording their views and concerns

The force has taken several steps to help its officers and staff effectively speak to children to understand their views and concerns. It uses a child risk assessment (CRA) form to record and share information about children with partner organisations. The force has amended the CRA form to focus on children’s experiences. It has also produced a video briefing about the changes and giving guidance about assessing and mitigating risk.

The force created another video briefing about the voice of the child. This introduces officers and staff to the College of Policing’s vulnerability assessment framework, to help them identify additional vulnerabilities in the people they meet.

We were pleased to see that officers and staff are better at speaking to children, and understanding their experiences. This was demonstrated in many of the cases we reviewed, including online child sexual abuse and exploitation investigations and responses to domestic abuse incidents. This is an important step in making better decisions for children and helping to assess needs. However this isn’t yet consistent. The force still needs to improve how it listens to and records children’s voices when they go missing, are taken into police protection or are detained.

Assessment and help

Assessment and help: Recommendations from the 2022 inspection report

We recommend that Warwickshire Police immediately reviews its missing persons arrangements and practices to make sure that throughout the missing episode there is always an effective response. We recommend that, within three months, Warwickshire Police carries out a review to make sure that concerns about children are reported to statutory safeguarding partners and organisations effectively.

Assessment and help: Summary of post-inspection review findings

The force has been committed to improving its response when children go missing. And it works well with its statutory safeguarding partners to find longer term solutions when children go missing regularly. But its response when children are reported missing often doesn’t reflect the risks posed to them.

The force now shares information with its statutory safeguarding partners more promptly, but it still doesn’t share all the information it should.

Assessment and help: Detailed post-inspection review findings

The force has committed time and effort to improving its response when children go missing

The force has produced several video briefings to help officers and staff understand what they should do when a child is reported missing. Force inspectors also attended a continuing professional development day which covered the response to missing people.

The force has made it mandatory for frontline officers and staff to complete two separate College of Policing online learning modules about missing people. At the time of our visit, most had completed this training.

The force has improved the way it records incidents when children are reported missing. The intelligence management unit quickly creates a COMPACT record to record activity and risk assessments. In all cases we audited, a record was created. This helps the force accurately analyse data and, more importantly, identify escalating risks when children go missing regularly.

The force is also making better use of trigger plans. However, some were out of date and some simply provided information rather than helped direct enquiries.

The force’s response when children are reported missing remains inconsistent

The force expects that when children are reported missing, the minimum risk grading should be medium to reflect their vulnerability. We found supervisors’ initial risk assessment is usually appropriate. But a medium grading should result in meaningful activity to trace the child and this doesn’t always happen.

The force still doesn’t take enough action to find children who are missing regularly and make sure they are safe. Although the allocated officer adds the enquiries needed on the COMPACT record, they often don’t act on them. And in some cases, enquiries weren’t recorded in the correct place. This makes it difficult for supervisors to check they have been done.

As in the case study below, we saw cases where several hours passed before any efforts were made to find children.

In two of the five cases we reviewed, children were located but left with people who posed a risk to them.

The force works well with its safeguarding partners but misses some opportunities to work together

The force and its safeguarding partners have introduced a daily meeting to discuss and make plans for children who are missing or are missing regularly. This helps them understand escalating risk and make a joint response.

Since our inspection, the force has worked with care providers to introduce the philomena protocol. In January 2023, the force extended the focus of its Operation Encompass processes so that when children are reported missing an alert is sent to their school. Together, these steps help all of those services involved with children to better understand their circumstances.

We saw examples when the force held strategy meetings with its safeguarding partners during longer periods when children were missing. This resulted in good information sharing and meaningful activity to find children. This was particularly evident in the following case.

But when children go missing regularly for shorter periods, strategy meetings aren’t taking place as often as necessary. In one case, the force and its partners didn’t hold a missing intervention meeting until the child had been missing 24 times.

The missing people team works hard to provide longer term support for children who go missing regularly

When children go missing regularly, the missing people team develop longer term strategies to conduct joint work. This is recorded in a proactive management plan on the Athena system.

This can provide helpful information when children are reported missing. The proactive management plan also automatically alerts the team to other incidents involving that child. But the structure of Athena means some plans aren’t available to all officers and staff. The force is working with the system provider to resolve this problem.

The force has improved its information sharing processes

The force has addressed delays in sharing information by providing extra training to officers and staff working in the central referral and safeguarding unit (CRSU) (formerly the harm assessment unit). CRSU staff now receive bespoke training, are allocated a mentor and must demonstrate competence before being approved to work independently.

This means staff can be more flexible and cover each other’s roles where needed. The force also uses overtime to meet the additional demand during very busy periods.

As a result, there has been a substantial reduction in the number of CRA forms requiring attention. We also saw that the force shares information much more promptly, often within a few hours and usually on the same day.

The force has improved the CRA form and introduced an app to help staff complete it

The force has amended the CRA form to focus officers’ attention on the child’s needs. And it has developed an app for mobile data terminals, which makes it easier for officers and staff to record information when on patrol. The app also has a section showing what local services are available for children and families.

These changes, together with those to improve the recording of children’s voices, mean the force now shares better quality information.

The force’s contribution to multi-agency meetings has improved

The force contributes to a daily multi-agency domestic abuse pathway meeting. This is an effective forum for prompt information sharing and joint decision-making about children and families exposed to domestic abuse.

Importantly, the force has improved its approach to attending strategy meetings. CRSU staff now record attendance requirements, including the nominated police attendee, on an effective colour-coded diary system. We were pleased to hear that since July 2022 the force has attended all strategy discussions except one.

The force still doesn’t share all the information it should

When officers and staff have concerns about a child, they record these on a CRA form. They should consider the level of risk and whether the child needs any further help. If help isn’t needed, the risk is graded as standard. A supervisor must approve the risk grading.

Unless a CRA graded as standard relates to domestic abuse, the force doesn’t share the information with its statutory safeguarding partners. And it doesn’t monitor the CRAs which means it can’t be sure that decision-making is in line with expectations.

We sampled ten standard risk CRAs. We found that the force should have shared two of these. Both cases related to contact the force had with children who were already receiving support from children’s social care services.

This means the force doesn’t share some important information about the most vulnerable children they encounter. It may also be missing opportunities to understand if there is any cumulative risk or to intervene early to help children.

Investigation

Investigation: Recommendation from the 2022 inspection report

We recommend that Warwickshire Police immediately improves its child protection and exploitation investigations, paying attention to:

• allocating investigations to teams with the skills, capacity and competence to carry them out well;
• improving the quality of oversight and supervision;
• reducing delays in investigations; and
• sharing information with children’s social care services at the time that a risk to a child is known.

Investigation: Summary of post-inspection review findings

The force has considerably increased the number of investigators dealing with child abuse and exploitation, who receive appropriate training for their role. There is also better oversight of online sexual abuse and exploitation investigations. As a result, action is taken promptly to pursue offenders and protect children. But the force needs to share information about risks to children sooner.

Investigation: Detailed post-inspection review findings

The force has increased the number of investigators dealing with child abuse

Since our inspection, the force has carried out a comprehensive review of its structure. This included a review of the numbers of investigators allocated to child protection roles. The review has resulted in the force increasing the number of investigators in the child abuse, trafficking and exploitation (CATE) teams by three sergeants and nine constables. The force has also defined the training requirements for these officers. They must be accredited investigators and trained in achieving best evidence; recording evidence from vulnerable people.

It is also making sure they complete the specialist child abuse investigation development programme. At the time of our inspection, most officers had completed or were working towards their accreditation. The force had a further 12 places on initial courses planned for 2023.

The force has more than doubled the number of investigators in the online child sexual exploitation team (OCSET). It has added one sergeant and six constables.

The force has introduced an online child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSAE) tactical delivery group to help improve case management. This group has managers from OCSET, CATE, CID and patrol. It meets monthly to provide case-by-case oversight. It monitors online CSAE investigations allocated to OCSET, or that have been passed by OCSET to CATE or the CID for further investigation.

The force has also produced guidance to help CID and CATE officers investigate these offences.

Investigations are now promptly carried out

The time taken to develop intelligence, take action to safeguard children and pursue offenders has improved considerably. Officers and staff now promptly record investigations on the Athena system. This allows better oversight.

Intelligence development officers now inform the detective sergeant when they identify a child is connected to a suspect’s address. This allows a prompt response. As a result, we didn’t see any delays to take action in cases where children were known to be at the address of suspects.

Investigators and supervisors are good at recording their investigative activity. Supervisory reviews are meaningful and contribute to the speed and quality of the investigation.

The time taken to investigate cases passed from OCSET to other teams such as CID or CATE has improved. However, this wasn’t always consistent. These cases are lower risk and are often incidents when children are responsible for sharing indecent images. We saw officers engage with children and make sure they were safe. Officers tried to understand the reasons for children’s behaviours and whether or not they were coerced to share images, rather than criminalise them. However, in one case we saw, the investigating officer submitted a CRA form and gave it a standard grading. This meant it wasn’t shared with the force’s statutory safeguarding partners as it should have been.

We saw opportunities for the force to improve intelligence gathering

The intelligence development officer conducts enquiries with other organisations to assess the risk suspects pose. We saw that these checks can be limited and the information they receive can be incomplete. For example, the force doesn’t consistently receive the information it asks for from their education and health colleagues. And it doesn’t ask for information from His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs or the data barring service. This means that the force could miss information about children connected to suspects. And as a result it may give a lower priority to those enquiries than appropriate.

The force needs to improve its response when the public report grooming or image sharing

Frontline officers’ and staff’s response to reports of grooming or image sharing which has escalated needs to improve. We reviewed two cases and returned them to the force for further investigation. In both cases, there was no investigation, evidence wasn’t pursued, and the wider risks posed by the suspect weren’t recognised and addressed.

In one case, the reporting officer and supervisor didn’t recognise harmful sexual behaviour displayed by the suspect, or the aggravating circumstances that should have resulted in a police investigation.

The force still waits too long to share information with its statutory safeguarding partners

When investigating online child sexual abuse and exploitation, the force still doesn’t share information about known risks to children soon enough. Officers and staff wait until they arrest the suspect or search their house. This misses an opportunity to better understand the risks and create joint plans with safeguarding partners.

For example, we saw two cases when officers arrested and interviewed suspects. They were released on bail, with conditions to only have supervised access to children. But both suspects were allowed to return to their homes and live with their children. By not sharing information with partner agencies sooner this may mean opportunities to better protect children are missed.

Decision-making

Decision-making: Recommendation from the 2022 inspection report

We recommend that, within six months, Warwickshire Police should improve the response to children taken into police protection. This should include making sure that, where required, opportunities to protect children are taken and all relevant information is properly recorded and readily accessible.

Decision-making: Summary of post-inspection review findings

Officers carefully consider and account for the use of their police protection powers. They are better at reviewing and recording the use of the power. And children are taken to appropriate places of safety.

Decision-making: Detailed post-inspection review findings

The force has improved its use of police protection powers

Since our inspection, the force has provided additional guidance to inspectors who fulfil the role of designated officer. There is also a video briefing to help all staff understand their protection powers and the requirements placed on them.

The force has worked with children’s social care services to make sure police stations are only used as a place of safety as a last resort.

In all of the cases we reviewed, we found appropriate use of the power to protect children. Officers also considered and documented the rationale for taking a child into police protection.

We saw that designated officers usually carry out regular reviews of the continued use of power. They explain the reason for it and consistently record when the power ends. However, some of the reviews we saw didn’t happen regularly enough. In one case there was an 18-hour gap between reviews.

Positively, in only one of the three cases we reviewed a child was taken to a police station. And this was only for a short period of time.

Managing those who pose a risk to children

Managing those who pose a risk to children: Recommendation from the 2022 inspection report

We recommend that Warwickshire Police immediately acts to improve its management of registered sex offenders, paying particular attention to:

• how it monitors offenders through home visits;
• how it uses reactive management processes;
• how information is provided to local officers about the registered sex offenders causing concern in their area;
• how it records information; and
• how the child sex offender disclosure scheme (CSODS) is managed effectively.

Managing those who pose a risk to children: Summary of post-inspection review findings

The force has improved how it manages registered sex offenders. We found better approaches to visiting offenders and to using reactive management. The force also records activity better and makes information available to frontline officers and staff.

Managing those who pose a risk to children: Detailed post-inspection review findings

The force has improved how it manages registered sex offenders

We were pleased to see the force has improved its approach to managing registered sex offenders.

There is better oversight of outstanding visits, which supervisors track using up-to-date spreadsheets. Officers, staff and their managers told us it is clear that all visits should be unannounced, unless there are exceptional circumstances. Visits should also be made in pairs, in line with authorised professional practice guidance.

In our last inspection, the force visited most registered sex offenders according to a rigid schedule. The force now expects the registered sex offender manager unit to tailor the frequency of visits to the offender and the risk they pose.

We found that this consistently happens and there are very few outstanding visits.

Offender managers told us they now use digital media investigators more frequently at visits to registered sex offenders. This has helped identify when those offenders have breached the conditions of their sexual harm prevention orders. These offences would previously have gone undetected.

The force has now introduced peer reviews. Every month, each team reviews another team’s work. This helps make sure teams across the force area are meeting the same standards.

The force has also improved its approach to the reactive management of offenders

The force has appointed an officer to oversee its approach to reactive management. It now regularly performs reviews of the suitability of the offender to be managed in this way. The force contacts each offender when their registration is due and conducts a risk assessment. And it returns the offender to active management where necessary.

We found some inconsistency in the intelligence checks used to support that risk assessment process. For example, not every offender is checked against the Police National Database. This means that Warwickshire Police may not be aware if an offender has come to the notice of another force. And this could affect the decision to return them from reactive to active management.

The force has taken steps to make sure frontline officers and staff are aware of registered sex offenders in the community

The force has created a search function in the Athena system so frontline officers and staff can brief themselves about registered sex offenders in the area they are patrolling. And it has produced a video briefing to help staff use this. Five of the six officers we spoke to knew how to use the search function.

Detective sergeants from the registered sex offender management unit have also given presentations across the force. These have aimed to raise the profile of the unit and educate people on registered sex offenders and relevant legislation. We were told this has led to officers and staff working more collaboratively with the unit, for example, to discuss suitable sexual harm prevention order conditions.

Offender managers are better at recording their activity

Following our inspection, the force provided five further ViSOR terminals to the registered sex offender management unit. This means it is much easier for officers and staff to access the system and record their activity. As a result, we saw officers and staff are better at recording activity such as strategy meeting minutes and communication with children’s social care services. And therefore valuable information is readily available, even if the offender moves to another force area.

We also found officers and staff are better at using the actions field to record what they have done or need to do. This makes it easier for supervisors to check work is completed to effectively manage the offender. However, the force needs to do more to make sure this happens consistently.

Officers still aren’t sure how to apply the CSODS

We found that if the subject is a registered sex offender, there is still a lack of certainty about the application of CSODS.

According to force policy, the registered sex offender management unit should be consulted if the subject of a disclosure application is a registered sex offender. However, the relevant officers and staff we spoke to didn’t consistently understand the policy.

One officer told us that the offender manager would complete the disclosure if the subject was a registered sex offender. But another said that the offender manager would only be consulted.

We weren’t able to assess this as there had been no CSODS applications involving registered sex offenders since our last inspection. We did review the overall process and found the sergeant responsible provides good oversight. And the force promptly discloses information about sex offenders when they should.

However, we found the force makes decisions about disclosure alone. This isn’t in line with Home Office guidance. Decisions about disclosure should be made by a multi-agency group. For example during a MAPPA meeting or as part of child safeguarding procedures.

Police detention

Police detention: Recommendation from 2022 inspection report

We recommend that, within six months, Warwickshire Police should carry out a review of how it manages the detention of children. The review should include, as a minimum, how best to:

• make sure that appropriate adults attend the police station promptly;
• make sure officers fully consider the welfare of children when in custody and refer them to children’s social care services, when necessary; and
• strengthen its working methods with local authorities to ensure that children charged and refused bail are moved to appropriate alternative accommodation and not held in custody overnight.

Police detention: Summary of post-inspection review findings

The force has better oversight of cases when children are detained. But appropriate adults still don’t always attend the police station quickly enough and children remain in detention after charge too often. The force has improved how it tries to understand the needs and concerns of children, but needs to be better at sharing information about them with statutory safeguarding partners.

Police detention: Detailed post-inspection review findings

The force has better oversight of cases when they have detained children

At the daily management meeting, managers discuss cases of children detained overnight. The custody inspector then reviews the custody record and gives feedback to custody officers when they see good practice or areas for improvement.

In November 2022, the custody inspector began a quality assurance process. All custody records for children are checked against a list of criteria. At the time of our inspection, this was still developing and the force was reviewing the scope and content of the checks.

The force and its partners have introduced regular multi-agency meetings to share information and resolve or escalate issues, where necessary.

In addition, the force has started to collect and analyse data about the detention of children. The custody inspector shares this data at the multi-agency meeting and with the force’s statutory safeguarding partners. The force is also using messaging to make sure officers only arrest children when absolutely necessary.

These are recent developments so it is too early to see the impact they are having. As well as making sure staff comply with the process, the force should think about how it can qualitatively evaluate it.

When a child is detained, there is often still a delay before appropriate adults attend

Since our inspection, the police and crime commissioner has provided funding to help improve the appropriate adult service, including using trained volunteers.

We saw examples of appropriate adults attending custody promptly. But too often their attendance was timed to coincide with an interview or another process. Instead, attendance should be prioritised to meet the child’s well-being needs or provide help with communication. Appropriate adults often don’t see children for many hours. In one case, there was an 18-hour delay before an appropriate adult attended.

Communication with detained children has improved but this isn’t consistent

We saw some examples of custody officers spending time with children to understand their needs and concerns. In these cases, the child’s voice was recorded clearly. But this wasn’t consistent and often records didn’t reflect the child’s experience.

Inspectors hold some reviews of detention in person. But they still conduct too many remotely. In one case, a child’s detention was reviewed three times without the inspector seeing them.

Children still remain in custody after charge when they shouldn’t

When custody officers anticipate a child will be refused bail, and therefore need alternative accommodation, they consult with children’s social care services and the youth justice service much sooner. This allows those services time to explore options. But this wasn’t consistent in all of the cases we reviewed, with examples of that being done at the time of charge.

Custody officers also weren’t consistent in recording what the request was for, and some records mention both alternative and secure accommodation. In England and Wales, there is a shortage of secure accommodation. And only a very small number of cases are likely to meet the required threshold. If custody officers aren’t clear about the difference between alternative and secure accommodation then it makes it difficult for the local authority to understand what is needed. Managers told us that custody officers haven’t received training in this area.

When a child is detained, the force should complete a juvenile detention certificate, but we found this didn’t always happen. And so local courts often aren’t aware of the reasons for detaining a child at the police station.

All of this means children are detained at police stations when they shouldn’t be. This can have a traumatic impact. And this is made worse because the force doesn’t have separate child detention facilities. So children are exposed to the sights and sounds of the detained adults around them.

The force has increased the information it shares about the children it detains, but needs to do more

The force has given healthcare professionals and liaison and diversion staff access to the Athena system. This allows them to submit a CRA form and report concerns to children’s social care services.

We saw officers and staff had submitted CRA forms when children were arrested. This is positive. But more work is needed to make sure this happens every time it should. And to make sure the CRA focuses on the child’s needs and well-being rather than the details of the offence.

Next steps

Warwickshire Police has made good progress in response to our 2022 recommendations. But the force recognises that it still needs to improve in some areas to provide consistently better outcomes for children.

We are confident that the force understands where it needs to improve. We are also satisfied that senior leaders have plans to make these changes and monitor progress.

As part of our routine monitoring of all police forces, we will continue to evaluate Warwickshire Police’s performance in relation to these recommendations and instigate closer scrutiny if necessary.

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Warwickshire – National child protection inspection post-inspection review