Good child protection practices, but GMP needs to improve safeguards for at-risk children

In particular, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) says it must improve how it investigates online child exploitation.

HMICFRS graded GMP’s performance across five areas, assessing how well it safeguards children who are at risk. It found the force was ‘good’ in two areas and ‘adequate’ in three areas.

It 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 is being published alongside an update on an inspection commissioned by the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham. This will examine GMP 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.”

Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said: “From the very beginning, I said that the main aim of this review was to give the public confidence that Greater Manchester has the right culture and best possible systems in place to protect children from child sexual exploitation.

“What HMICFRS has published today is a significant step in the right direction to answer that question.

“Having read the report and letter in full, I am firmly of the view that the Greater Manchester system is in a demonstrably different and far stronger place today than it was in the days covered by the previous reviews.  They provide clear evidence that leaders and practitioners have positively responded to what has gone before and that they are committed to going further.

“This is encouraging to see but we cannot be complacent. There are areas identified for further improvement and more reports to come before my question can be fully laid to rest.

“So today, I am saying to the public of Greater Manchester that you can be confident that the Greater Manchester system is in a much stronger place to protect and safeguard children at risk of criminal and sexual exploitation.

“However, I will remain relentless in my determination to ensure Greater Manchester is as safe as it can possibly be for our children.  Today marks a juncture but that work will never conclude.”

Chief Constable Stephen Watson said: “This report recognises that the GMP of today is one that affords child protection the priority that it deserves; it puts victims at the heart of what we do; it works effectively with partners to safeguard children, and it has developed a well-trained, committed, and determined workforce that specialises in this work.

“What remains of the utmost importance however is that victims, survivors, and vulnerable people receive a first-class response every time. In this I recognise that we still have further improvements to make. HMICFRS makes helpful recommendations in this regard which we have readily embraced and have already acted upon.

“The protection of our children will remain a key priority for GMP, and I am determined that we, together with our partners, will continue to work hard at getting better – those most vulnerable in our communities deserve nothing less.”

Following the airing on 3 July 2017 of the BBC documentary, The Betrayed Girls, about child sexual exploitation (CSE) in Greater Manchester, the Mayor announced he wanted to assure himself and the public that everything possible has been done to protect children today and in the future, and prevent it from happening again.

Since then, independent reviews into non-recent CSE in Manchester (Part One) and Oldham (Part Two) have been completed, and Rochdale (Part Three) reported at the end of January, this year.

Part Four looks at the current handling of CSE. Led by HMICFRS, supported by Ofsted and the CQC, it is a deep and wide-ranging review of the effectiveness of current practice in handling child sexual exploitation in Greater Manchester.

The full Child Protection Inspection Report and interim findings for the peer review process come ahead of further full reports due in summer 2025.

Deputy Mayor for Safer and Stronger Communities, Kate Green, said: “I welcome the reports and thank HMICFRS, Ofsted and the CQC for the work they have done.

“There are further reports to come next year, that will shine a light even further onto the outcomes of this comprehensive review.

“Today’s reports are clear that, while good progress has been made, there is still more to do to ensure that the whole Greater Manchester system is good in every respect at protecting our children. That work has already begun, and will continue under my oversight on behalf of the mayor.

“The first three reports commissioned by the mayor laid bare the horrific abuse experienced by children in Rochdale, Oldham and Manchester and the failure of services, including GMP, to protect them, between 2005 and 2014.

“We cannot undo the harm those children suffered, and the trauma many continue to experience as adults. But we can and must ensure that no child growing up in Greater Manchester today or in the future will be failed by our public services in the way those children were.

“That will be my priority in the coming months and years, and all of us are determined and wholeheartedly committed to achieving that goal.”