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Paragraphs: 15.1 - 15.8
| 15.9 - 15.16
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15.1
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The starting point for my consideration of police involvement in
Victoria's case is the firm belief that children should enjoy the
same protection from the law, and the same level of service from
the police, as adults. 'Child protection policing' is no more or
less than the investigation of crime. To treat it otherwise or to
remove it from mainstream policing in either philosophy or operational
practice is to do a grave disservice to the victims of such crime.
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15.2
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Therefore, I was very concerned to hear from a large number of
officers who gave evidence before me, that child protection teams
(CPTs) within the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) were considered
to be somehow 'different' from other police units. In particular,
several officers told me that CPTs were the 'poor cousins' or 'Cinderellas'
of the force.
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15.3
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Having listened to a large volume of evidence on this issue, I
conclude that the impression gained by these officers as to the
priority given to CPTs by the MPS at the time Victoria was alive
in this country is accurate. I am firmly of the view that child
protection policing in north west London during the second half
of 1999 was given neither the attention nor the resources it needed
and deserved.
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15.4
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All of the senior officers who gave evidence to the Inquiry were
quick to accept that the work of CPTs is both vitally important
and extremely challenging, involving the investigation of some of
the most serious crimes. However, I have formed the view that at
the time with which this Inquiry is concerned, there was an obvious
difference between the priority and attention that these officers
said the CPTs should have received, and that which they received,
in reality.
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15.5
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This difference, it seemed to me, was most clearly revealed by
the evidence concerning the following four aspects of child protection
policing in north west London during the second half of 1999:
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training available to child protection officers
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number of qualified detectives working on child protection teams
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quantity and standard of equipment provided for the teams
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standard of accommodation provided for the teams.
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I deal with each in turn.
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15.6
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Every new recruit who joins the police takes a 15-week initial
course followed by a series of two-week training modules during
their two-year probationary period. A great deal of this training
relates to the investigation of crime. On successful completion
of their probation, all constables are expected to be able to deal
with the investigation of crimes such as theft, assaults and actual
bodily harm.
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15.7
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Those who wish to can apply to join the CID. As part of the selection
process, they undertake a six-week CID foundation course. This is
an advanced course for crime investigators, designed to improve
an officer's skills in dealing with crimes such as serious assaults
and sexual offences, as well as increasing his or her awareness
of forensic science techniques, covert surveillance methods and
the issues associated with the disclosure of unused material. I
believe that some investigations undertaken by CPTs are so serious
and complex that it is essential they are handled by officers who
have had the benefit of advanced investigative training of this
kind. I return to consider this issue in detail at paragraph 15.9.
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15.8
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However, all police officers should, as a result of their initial
training, be aware of the basic principles of effective investigation.
It may be unfortunate that neither of the two constables who dealt
with Victoria were trained detectives. However, I do not think the
almost total lack of effective investigation into any of the three
referrals about her can be directly attributed to the fact that
neither of them attended the CID foundation course.
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Paragraphs: 15.1 - 15.8
| 15.9 - 15.16
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15.9
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The obvious failures in the police's handling of Victoria's case
are recorded in detail in the preceding sections. As Deputy Assistant
Commissioner (DAC) William Griffiths memorably said, "In the A to
Z of an investigation, that investigation did not get to B." I was
also in agreement with Commander Michael Craik when he told the
Inquiry "... all officers investigate. Probably any officer with
more than two years' service, who has been properly assessed as
being competent and has the relevant investigative skills, is capable
of starting life working in child protection teams". He went on
to say, "It is a cop's job, doing something. Police get called,
they start an investigation. The first day a probationer walks out,
they could be called to a house where a child has been abused."
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15.10
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Having listened to these experienced officers, I consider that
any constable should be able to take the initial basic steps at
the outset of a criminal investigation. As a result, I reject the
suggestion made by some of the junior officers involved in Victoria's
case that a lack of detective training excused their poor performance.
PC Rachel Dewar, for example, told me she felt ill-equipped to deal
with serious child abuse because she had only limited experience
of criminal investigation, where the most serious level of crime
she would deal with would be actual bodily harm. In my judgement,
even a basic level of inquiry that would routinely be expected in
a case of actual bodily harm could have been enough to discover
that Victoria was being abused by her carers.
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15.11
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However, the MPS should take little comfort from the fact that
it provided just enough training for these officers to do the basics.
In my view, the organisation should have made sure that there were
enough officers on CPTs, particularly those in a supervisory role,
who were trained detectives. It seems to me to be self-evident that
a child victim of a serious assault is entitled to expect at least
the same level of expertise as an adult victim with similar injuries.
If adults can expect to have serious assaults against them investigated
by trained detectives, so should children in a similar situation.
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15.12
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During the relevant period, there were hardly any officers working
in either Brent CPT or Haringey CPT who had attended the CID foundation
course. Certainly none of the officers who worked on, or directly
supervised, Victoria's case had done so. Detective Inspector (DI)
Michael Anderson was the only manager within either of the CPTs
who could properly be regarded as a 'career detective'.
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15.13
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The explanation for this situation doesn't seem to lie in the failure
of local managers to ensure that their staff were appropriately
trained. I was told that it is not possible for local managers to
instigate CID foundation training. In any event, it would appear
that at the time with which I am concerned, such training did not
exist. Detective Superintendent (D Supt) Gary Copson told me, "There
was no detective training course, there was no junior initial CID
course for the Metropolitan Police for nearly four years [prior
to Victoria's death] to the best of my recollection. There was not
any." Even if local managers had wanted to put their CPT staff on
a CID foundation course in the years leading up to Victoria's death,
they would have been unable to do so.
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15.14
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In addition to generic investigative training, CPT officers should
have additional training to deal with the particular requirements
of child protection investigation. Sergeant (Sgt) David Smith told
me that such training was "vital" to the effective exercise of a
CPT officer's duties. With regard to such training, the position
within the MPS during the relevant period was haphazard to say the
least. Despite having taken a large volume of evidence on the matter,
it remains unclear exactly what training was available. Some officers
recalled having attended courses ranging from three days to two
weeks, but according to DI Anderson, child protection training had
been stopped completely by the MPS training department in 1996.
If this is right (and DI Anderson appeared confident in his recollection),
the inevitable result was that, by 1999, many officers employed
in CPTs had received neither CID training nor any form of child
protection training.
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15.15
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The alternative arrangements, described by DI Anderson as "learning
on the job", were, in my view, manifestly inadequate. I have formed
the view that the officers in the CPTs of north west London at the
time Victoria was alive in the area were insufficiently trained
to equip them for the difficult job they were required to perform.
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15.16
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In an effort to ensure that similar deficiencies are avoided in
other areas of the country, I make the following recommendation:
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Recommendation
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The Home Office, through Centrex and the Association of Chief
Police Officers, must devise and implement a national training curriculum
for child protection officers as recommended in 1999 by Her Majesty's
Inspectorate of Constabulary in its thematic inspection report,
Child Protection.
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