Police contact with a mother and unborn child subject to child protection - Metropolitan Police Service, February 2020
Following multiple interactions with Social Services in the UK and Ireland, the parents of Child A had four other children taken into care by local authorities as they lacked capacity to parent them. Mrs A became pregnant with her fifth child (Child A) and, following a pre-birth assessment in April 2020, Child A was made subject of a child protection plan out of concern that they would be subject to neglect.
On 3 July 2020, Mr and Mrs A left the area but maintained telephone contact with Social Services. On 16 September 2020, after a strategy discussion between Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers and Social Services, a missing person report was created for Mrs A. On 17 September 2020, the MPS established Mrs A’s location and West Yorkshire Police officers attended the hospital in Bradford, to discover Mrs A had attempted to give birth at home on 16 September 2020 and Child A had been born and died on 17 September 2020.
IOPC investigators took statements from police witnesses, Social Services and subject matter experts on safeguarding and missing persons. The actions of officers in recording and acting on the information provided to them were analysed and compared with local and national policy, procedure and legislation.
During the investigation, there was no indication any police officer had behaved in a manner that would justify the bringing of disciplinary proceedings or had committed a criminal offence.
We carefully considered whether there were any learning opportunities arising from the investigation. We make learning recommendations to improve policing and public confidence in the police complaints system and prevent a recurrence of similar incidents. We have identified potential recommendations for the decision maker to consider in respect of mandatory safeguarding training to all staff and officers working for CAIT.
IOPC reference
Recommendations
The IOPC recommends that the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) deliver mandatory safeguarding training to all Child Abuse Investigation Team (CAIT) officers and staff. This should be tailored to the work carried out by the team and include areas such as:
- Wider themes and issues they may encounter in their work
- Dealing with issues that are not criminal but in which the police play a role
- Dealing with vulnerable adults and missing persons in the context of their work
Refresher training should be provided on an annual basis (in addition to the requirements of the Specialist Child Abuse Investigator's Development Programme (SCAIDP) re-accreditation).
Do you accept the recommendation?
Yes
Accepted action:
The MPS has considered and accepts this IOPC recommendation.
In November 2021, a series of mandatory continuous professional development days commenced for all police officers working in public protection, including those working within the Child Abuse Investigation Teams (CAIT). A range of topics are covered including information sharing responsibilities, the voice of the child, harmful practices and preventing the vulnerable from being drawn into radicalisation. These will continue to be run annually and will act as both a refresher and an opportunity to cascade new information to the relevant teams.
In addition to the above, every CAIT is being visited by the MPS Continuous Policing Improvement Command team alongside the Lead Responsible Officer for Child Protection. These visits involve two days of refresher training including the management of referrals, children on child protection plans and linked investigations. These will be re-visited on an ongoing rotational basis to ensure any turnover in staff within a 12 month period is captured. The above is in addition to the re-written Specialist Child Abuse Investigator Development Programme training course being re-developed and was launched in October 2021. The content includes the fact that a significant number of child abuse concerns start without an allegation of crime or disclosure from the child but emphasises the role police still have to play. It also acknowledges the need for child abuse investigators to not focus only on the child but equally consider the vulnerabilities of the adults concerned and the possibility that they are both victim and suspect in some cases.
Associated accreditation and continuous professional development is now being monitored centrally by the Lead Responsible Officer to ensure greater oversight and consistency across the CAITs.
The IOPC recommends that the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) deliver mandatory bespoke training to Police Conference Liaison Officers (PCLOs) and their respective Detective Sergeants on the Child Abuse Investigation Team (CAIT) to highlight the policies and procedures within which they are required to operate. This training should be aimed at attendees gaining a broader understanding of the working relationships with partner agencies (including but not limited to local authorities) in order to ensure that information is shared correctly. The training should include roles and responsibilities in relation to conducting and recording risk assessments and completing IIMARCH (Information, Intention, Method, Administration, Risk Assessment, Communications, Human Rights) briefings.
Do you accept the recommendation?
Yes
Accepted action:
The MPS has considered and accepts this IOPC recommendation.
The Lead Responsible Officer for Child Protection had already identified this gap in training but took the decision to wait for the detail of these recommendations to progress in order to ensure all aspects were included. Liaison with the MPS Learning and Development Command regarding the creation of a bespoke course commenced in August 2021. Now that the full recommendation has been received and accepted work will commence on designing the learning objectives, course content and timescales for delivery. This will include dialogue with the College of Policing to establish if a national product exists or other forces are more advanced in this area. A number of experienced practitioners have already been identified to assist in the designing of the course content.
The course will be made mandatory for all police staff performing the Police Conference Liaison Officer (PCLO) role and all Detective Sergeants who have supervisory responsibility for the PCLOs. Content will include all aspects of the role from information sharing at the conference to the actions required once a child becomes subject to a child protection plan including risk assessments. This will detail the IIMARCH briefings required for other officers to ensure they are aware of the actions which must be taken in respect of these children should concerns about their whereabouts be raised including linked missing person investigations.