Shocking police failures into online child sexual abuse investigations in England and Wales have been identified in a new watchdog report.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) found children were being put more at risk as some forces took up to 18 months to act on evidence of abuse or exploitation.
Officers are also failing to act within recommended timescales and wrongly grading high risk reports as “low,” leaving some children vulnerable to harm by suspects they are living with, the report (pdf) revealed.
The watchdog also found that some forces are “often not properly responding to allegations or concerns about suspects,” leading to “unacceptable” delays and missed opportunities….