Met’s response to HMICFRS report on child exploitation

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has published an encouraging report on the Metropolitan Police’s handling of child exploitation.

The report, published on Wednesday, 26 February, confirms the independent inspectorate has closed the three areas of concern and acknowledges the significant strides made by the Met in improving its approach to safeguarding children and tackling the risks posed by exploitation.

It highlights improvements in response times, better training and increased resources, all of which contribute to a more robust and compassionate approach to protecting vulnerable children. Senior officers at the Met have welcomed these positive findings and emphasised that their work to safeguard children will continue to evolve and improve, ensuring that no child is left at risk.

Improvements in the handling of child exploitation contributed to the Met being moved out of special measures by HMICFRS earlier this year.

Commander Kevin Southworth, the Met’s lead for Public Protection, said:

"We are proud of the progress we have made since the last inspection, but we recognise there is always more to do. Our commitment to safeguarding children is unwavering, and we are investing heavily in resources and training to ensure that officers at every level understand the complexities of child exploitation.

“We’ve made real progress, which is testament to our hard working and dedicated officers and staff working in one of the most complex and demanding areas in policing. We won’t stop here and are committed to further building on this success and continuing to earn the trust of the communities we serve."

A key development in the Met’s approach to child safeguarding is the launch of our new Children Strategy in September 2024. This five-year plan aims to transform the way the force keeps children safe from crime, with a focus on ensuring that officers take a "child first" approach. As part of this strategy, all officers will receive training on childhood vulnerability and adultification bias, equipping them to better understand and address the specific needs and risks faced by children.

Recognising the need to do everything in our power to protect children and bring those who would exploit or abuse them to justice, we have:

• Trained 11,500 officers in the identification of child exploitation
• Doubled the number children reported missing with exploitation concerns being graded as high-risk
• Increased the volume of child exploitation concerns being identified by officers and then investigated by specialist teams by 50 per cent
• Added 64 additional posts to local multi-agency safeguarding hub referrals teams to support increased information sharing and decision making, increasing capacity by 75 per cent.

The Met is also committed to improving relationships between officers and children in London, working more effectively in partnership with agencies whose primary responsibility is child protection. The strategy includes expanding child exploitation teams with an additional 72 officers, integrating trained school officers into neighbourhood teams increasing capacity by 75 per cent, and establishing a new Public Protection Referrals desk to better identify children experiencing domestic abuse and facilitate a multi-agency response.

These initiatives build on the Met’s ongoing progress in strengthening its safeguarding response and demonstrate a clear commitment to transforming its approach to child protection.