Force settles Breck Bednar case
Surrey Police has apologised unreservedly to the family of a murdered teenager.
Surrey Police has apologised unreservedly to the family of a murdered teenager.
In December 2014, Breck Bednar was killed by 19-year-old Lewis Daynes, who lured him to his flat before tying him up and stabbing him in the throat.
Two months before his death his mother, Lorin LaFave, called the force on 101 over concerns her 14-year-old son was being groomed online.
Following his death, Mr Bednars parents began legal action against Surrey Police seeking damages over a failure to protect their son.
The claim has now been settled out of court.
Responding to the announcement, a spokesperson for Surrey Police admitted mistakes had been made during the handling of Ms LaFaves call.
As part of the settlement, Surrey Police has agreed to implement the changes to their procedures recommended by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) last year.
The IPCC concluded that both the Surrey Police call handler and their supervisor lacked knowledge of dealing with grooming concerns and that Mr Bednars mother had provided information which should have flagged the potential risk of him being groomed.
The investigation determined the call was closed by people who had received child protection training and therefore should have known further action was required.
IPCC Commissioner Jennifer Izekor also wrote to the national lead on child protection Simon Bailey and national lead for children and young people Olivia Pinkney asking them to consider current national guidance and to alert forces across England and Wales to the IPCC`s recommendations so they can satisfy themselves the right training and procedures are in place.
Mr Bednars parents plan to work with Surrey Police in order to enhance awareness of the dangers young people face online and to ensure appropriate training is given to staff to assist in the prevention of similar crimes against children.
In January 2015, Daynes was jailed for life. The judge recommended he serve a minimum of 25 years.
The changes include:
The creation of a checklist specific to child sexual exploitation to ensure intelligence checks are carried out before the call can be closed;
A dedicated training day for contact centre staff to demonstrate how to identify risk and appropriately act on this type of information;
Widening training so more staff know about how and when to make a Police National Computer check; and
Ensure call handlers are provided with details about specialist agencies.