Greater Manchester Police’s handling of a review into historic childhood sexual abuse will be investigated, it has been announced.
A series of reviews into how authorities handled historic childhood sexual exploitation (CSE) have been published — examining how teams in Manchester, Oldham, and Rochdale protected vulnerable children from abuse.
The final element – part four – of the CSE review will see every Greater Manchester council assessed on ‘the progress that has been made to date in terms of responses to CSE and identify priority areas for further improvement’.
Deputy Greater Manchester mayor Kate Green has today (July 12) announced GMP will now be probed as part of that process by the same body which placed the force in special measures in 2020.
She told a meeting in Salford:
“Following the publication of the part three review, the mayor and I have become very aware of public concern of CSE in Greater Manchester.
“In light of that, the mayor and I formed the view that the part four report needed to be more comprehensive. We therefore have approached HMICFRS [His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services] to conduct a review into procedures of GMP. We expect this report from HMICFRS will produce areas of improvement and action. We are now in the process of commissioning a HMICFRS review.”
The deputy mayor also said that the ‘arrangement will provide… public reassurance we deserve and need’. Mayor Andy Burnham added:
“I would want to echo this is the redoubling of our determination in completing this process.
“This is a significant strengthening of our part four arrangement because of the lead role taken by HMICFRS. In some ways we are expanding that with a significant role for Ofsted and the CQC — so there will be three of the country’s most authoritative regulators collaborating.”
Oldham council leader Arooj Shah said the ‘news is really welcomed’. She added:
“We appreciate the acknowledgement and recognition but we’re not complacent and we would welcome the chance to learn from other areas of best practice across Greater Manchester as well as sharing our own work from really hard working dedicated teams.”
Her comments come after Oldham Council voted to pursue a government inquiry into historic child sexual exploitation in the borough, following criticism of the Greater Manchester-led investigation published in 2022. The report found ‘serious failings’ in the way Oldham Council and the GMP had dealt with some cases of CSE despite efforts to help vulnerable children.
The scope of the inquiry was considered ‘too narrow and time limited’ by survivors of the abuse and members of the community. The council will now write to the Home Office to request an inquiry and have committed to a ‘Telford-style’ independent inquiry conducted by lawyers should the request be denied.
In response to the announcement of the review into GMP, a spokesperson for the force said:
“Addressing child sexual exploitation and the wider safeguarding of our children and young people is a priority for GMP.
“We want the perpetrators of these appalling crimes to be brought to justice and to put the interests of survivors and victims at the heart of our investigations.
“We welcome the fact that the assurance process will continue under the auspices of the professional policing and education regulatory bodies and look forward to being able to demonstrate the advancements we have made to supporting survivors and investigating offenders, as well as hearing their expert advice on any further improvements we should make to our current practice.”
