Supporting Police responses to engaging missing and vulnerable children
Working with Police partners as ‘One Partnership’ to strengthen the local policing response to children who are missing and/or at risk of criminal or sexual exploitation is a central tenet our Business Plan. The recent HMICFRS (2023a) inspection into the Metropolitan Police[1] identified two accelerated causes of concern: that Police struggle to determine risk and respond appropriately when children are reported missing; and that investigations when young people are at risk of criminal or sexual exploitation are not as strong as they could be. Baroness Casey’s (2023)[2] report also highlights concerns regarding the Metropolitan Police’s child protection and safeguarding systems. This theme also reflects our ambitions to work together to drive forward our tackling Violence and Exploitation strategy and to embed collective learning taken from the conclusion of a recent local Child Safeguarding Practice review.
[1] HMICFRS (2023a). Metropolitan Police – accelerated causes of concern. Available at: https://hmicfrs.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/publication-html/metropolitan-police-accelerated-causes-of-concern/
[2] Casey, L. (2023). An independent review into the standards of behaviour and internal culture of the Metropolitan Police Service. Available at: https://www.met.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/media/downloads/met/about-us/baroness-casey-review/update-march-2023/baroness-casey-review-march-2023a.pdf.
In 2024-2025 Barnet led a project, alongside Harrow and Brent Children’s Social Care, with the Police to deliver training to around 500 Police Officers in the Emergency Response Teams covering the North West BCU. The planning of the training started with observing the Police training session at the time and inviting feedback from the officers to co-produce the content. The training provided focused on how the Police and Children’s Social Care can work best together to reduce risks to children and improve their lives.
This included how Police safeguarding reports are used by Social Workers when assessing risks to children, and what information is helpful to include in these reports. There was an introduction to using ‘language that cares’ as a tool to support non victim blaming language and consider factors such as exploitation and grooming when working with children.
Children who have been supported by Barnet Children’s Social Care participated in the training by sharing their experiences of Police involvement and their advice to Police Officers responding to incidents where children are present. These were voice recorded and used to promote discussion in the training sessions, to consider the voice of children and how Police Officers can respond to incidents in a child focused way.
The training sessions have provided the opportunity for open and meaningful discussions between Police and Children’s Social Care colleagues. This has encouraged better insight into each other’s roles and perspectives alongside the importance of maintaining child centred practice. We are currently planning the second phase of the training to include input on ‘Social Graces’ as a tool for considering intersectionality and how this impacts children and families and their interactions with professionals.
Check back on this page over the course of 2025 and more to see how we are continuing to work as ' one partnership ' to continue to drive forward improved outcomes for children