Gloucestershire Police 'did not share' sexual abuse details

Police knew several young people were being sexually abused but did not share key information, a report has found.

It added the Gloucestershire Safeguarding Children Partnership (GSCP) must overhaul the way it protects vulnerable teenagers following three serious cases of exploitation.

Victims included a young woman with severe learning difficulties who was sexually abused for three years.

The GSCP said it will implement all the report's recommendations.

The report, commissioned by the GSCP and led by independent consultant Mark Power, said victims "felt let down by the 'system'" after help earlier in their lives was ineffective.

It added they had a "mistrust and dislike of the police" and "did not feel listened to".

The report found that "in the most serious cases the police became aware of sexual assaults on young people and did not share this information".

Improvements to be made by the GSCP, made up of Gloucestershire Constabulary, Gloucestershire County Council and the Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group, include working with young people with complex needs until they are 25, and more effective collaboration between the agencies.

Making a number of recommendations, the report added: "If improvements to safeguarding adolescents are to be delivered, a new multi-agency exploitation strategy will be needed."

Police should undertake a "robust enforcement of offences committed by known perpetrators" after problems were "regularly not identified and shared", it added.

And when offenders cannot be prosecuted, officers should be "proactive" in stopping exploitation and abuse.

The report added while concerns involving exploited teenagers had previously been found and dealt with "quickly", this was often done in isolation.

It said looking at the cases over a longer period, based on the trauma victims have suffered, would give agencies a "better understanding of a child's life and experiences" and more chance of being effective.

Kevin Crompton, GSCP's independent scrutineer, said: "We will be working closely with all agencies in the partnership to implement the recommendations from this review so that we can improve safeguarding practice to keep young people in Gloucestershire safe from harm."

Gloucestershire Constabulary said that it had updated guidance and improved training in response to the report.

A spokesman said: "An audit of vulnerability identification screening tool forms has been completed and the findings from this are being used to improve training and challenge misconceptions amongst staff.

"More quality checks have also been put in place to ensure all relevant information is recorded and shared."