A report into Greater Manchester Police’s current handling of all matters relating to the protection of children in Greater Manchester good leadership of its child protection arrangements but must improve in some areas to make sure it identifies all risks to children, the police inspectorate has said.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, asked HMICFRS to lead on conducting the final element of the CSE Assurance Review process which commenced in 2017.
The first three reports of this review examined non-recent child sexual exploitation in Manchester, Oldham and Rochdale.
This final element of the assurance review seeks to provide assurance that GMP, Greater Manchester councils and NHS Trusts have the right culture and systems in place to protect children from sexual exploitation.
At the request of the Mayor, HMICFRS brought forward their national Child Protection Inspection of GMP, which was due to be carried out in 2025. In addition the Mayor has formally commissioned HMICFRS and separately Ofsted to conduct additional work to achieve his overall objective.
HMICFRS said that chief officers and senior leaders have strong oversight and understanding of the force’s performance and the quality of service it provides to the public.
Inspectors found that leaders have a good understanding of the issues affecting children in Greater Manchester and demonstrate a commitment to providing a child-centred service.
The inspectorate said that the force works well with its safeguarding partners. As part of this inspection, HMICFRS spoke to ten senior leaders from the force’s statutory safeguarding partners.
All of them spoke positively about the force’s commitment to working with them to achieve better outcomes for children in their communities.
However, HMICFRS said that the force should improve how it investigates online child exploitation, and make sure there are enough officers and staff trained and available to record children’s evidence. Inspectors also said that the force should do more to make sure its officers and staff understand the well-being support available to them and how to make use of it.
This report has been published alongside an update on an inspection commissioned by the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham. This will examine Greater Manchester Police and its safeguarding partners’ approach to investigating allegations of child criminal and sexual exploitation and supporting victims and survivors. The inspection consists of three parts, and the full report will be published in June 2025.
His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Michelle Skeer said:
“I am pleased with some aspects of the performance of Greater Manchester Police in safeguarding children at risk. But there are some areas in which it needs to improve.
“It’s clear that chief officers and senior leaders understand and carry out their statutory child protection and safeguarding responsibilities, and that the force works productively with its partners. It was positive to see that leaders have made sure there are enough skilled and knowledgeable officers and staff to provide effective safeguarding to children and their families.
“The force also carries out many joint child protection criminal investigations that are child centred and uses its specialist resources well to support them.
“However, the force should improve how it records information about children, which would help it to assess risks more effectively. It also needs to make sure that officers and staff know how to make the most of well-being support.
“I was reassured that the force responded promptly and comprehensively to our ongoing feedback during this inspection. It has already put plans in place to address areas for improvement and I will continue to monitor its progress.”
