South Yorkshire police under fire for failing to protect vulnerable children

Shaun Wright resigned as South Yorkshire police and crime commissioner after
an earlier report which heavily criticised the force.

A police force criticised for turning a blind eye to the sexual exploitation of 1,400 children in Rotherham has been further rebuked for “weaknesses” in its child protection procedures.

South Yorkshire police had “limited understanding” of the risk posed by offenders who target vulnerable children, while officers showed an inconsistent response to child sexual exploitation, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) said.

Inspectors found that officers had failed to tell social services when two 13-year-old girls went missing from their care homes. Both had been identified as at risk of being exploited for sex. But when one breached her bail condition to stay at the care home, she was arrested after being found at the home of a sex offender with condoms in her possession.

“There was no record of children’s social care services being notified, her parents being informed or an appropriate adult or solicitor sought. Furthermore, there was no indication of any enquiries about the man in whose home she was found, or any evidence of a risk assessment being completed,” said an HMIC inspector.  (more...)

South Yorkshire police under fire for failing to protect vulnerable children

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