Minutes:
The Chairman indicated that he had been requested by the Commissioner to allow him the opportunity to make an announcement. The Commissioner had not told the Chairman of the nature of this announcement but stated that he would be unable to answer any questions on the matter at the Panel meeting. Accordingly, the Chairman suggested that the Panel adjourn in order that the request could be discussed in private amongst Panel members.
-The Panel adjourned at 2.05pm and restarted 2.20pm –
The Chairman indicated that, following private deliberation amongst the Panel members, the Commissioner would be given the opportunity to deliver his announcement, however he pointed out that the Panel largely felt that, unless they directly affected the Panel itself, announcements of this kind should be dealt with in a press conference setting rather than via Panel meetings; otherwise
The Commissioner responded by stating that he did not want the Panel to be compromised by learning of developments at his office second hand, but that he accepted the point being made.
Accordingly, the Commissioner delivered the following statement:
“Mr Chair, Panel
Members,
I assure you that I
won’t keep you for long, for I am very alive to the fact that we have a
particularly full Agenda today.
Nonetheless, I felt it
extremely important to brief you regarding the Review that I instigated earlier
this month – actually on 1st September, whilst I was on
holiday. That Review is aimed at looking
into the action taken by Leicestershire Police following any allegations of
abuse relating to children and young people in our police area.
You will appreciate,
noting the date on which I acted, that this was done in the immediate aftermath
of the Rotherham Report. It is my firm
belief that we need to reassure victims, the public and our local stakeholders
that all allegations of abuse, whether these are historic or present-day, have
been – and are being – handled appropriately by Leicestershire Police.
I have therefore asked
the Force to examine how it managed allegations of suspected child sexual
abuse, grooming or exploitation reports to Leicestershire Police from the 1990s
onwards. Whilst final timescales for
completion are still to be confirmed- and given that I have made it abundantly clear
that quality must not be sacrificed for speed – I expect to receive an outline
report by the end of the year.
The Review is, as you
would expect, being overseen by a very senior officer who is reporting to me
through the Chief Constable. It will look
at the action taken at the time of any allegation and the outcomes
reached. Perhaps most pertinently, given
the desperate failures in Rotherham, it will evaluate any decisions not
to take further action in order to see whether such action should have been
taken, or indeed could be taken now, in response to the original complaint.
The Chief Constable is
fully supportive of the approach that has been taken, and we together have
worked closely with Force colleagues to agree the extent of the Review.
I am sure that I have
no need to highlight the fact that the Leicestershire Police Force has
conducted a number of investigations in recent years, with vigour and
professionalism, and these efforts have led to the successful prosecution of
several individuals for abusing children.
You are probably also aware that several other enquiries are currently
active, which of course we cannot discuss.
But the public, quite
rightly, will want assurance that we are providing adequate safeguards to the
young people of this area. And victims
and those at risk of abuse must have confidence to come forward, secure in the
knowledge that they will be taken seriously and treated with sensitivity. Those who may harbour concerns regarding
allegations of a historical nature should now have faith that the action taken
at the time is being re-examined.
I should, of course,
stress that there is nothing – absolutely nothing - to suggest that current
procedures are not what they should be.
But we all know that national news stories about events in other areas
can have an impact on local opinion and confidence. And, whilst this is in no way a fault-finding
mission, should we find areas where improvements can be made, that would
clearly be an added benefit.
Having briefed you, the
Panel, I am also today writing to appropriate partners and issuing a media
statement covering the key points. In my
view, doing nothing in the aftermath of the Rotherham Report was not an option;
that is why I took such quick action.
This is, without doubt, the right thing to do.
At this point it is
not appropriate to invite, or take, questions on the topic. I have brought a copy of the press statement
for you all, and there is nothing more to add at this time except to say that I
expect to make a further statement when I receive the outline report, including
of course to this Panel.
Thank you.”
RESOLVED:
That the statement delivered by the Commissioner and the press statement tabled be noted.