Greater Manchester Police subject to Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse Cases

Greater Manchester Police (‘GMP’) is currently facing an inquiry into their handling of child sexual exploitation (‘CSE’) cases due to ongoing public concern in Greater Manchester. CSE has been an ongoing issue across the country for many years and it has been particularly rife in Greater Manchester. The number of CSE offences has quadrupled the number it was ten years ago, with there being a 7.9% increase from 2021 to 2022. As a result, Greater Manchester communities are seeking assurances that the relevant authorities have been exercising and continue to exercise their powers correctly.

The recent Baird Inquiry focused on a review into CSE within Rochdale and concluded that victims in the early 2000s were failed by GMP. HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (‘the Inspectorate’) is now leading a further inquiry that has been tasked with specifically examining GMP’s handling of CSE cases. The GMP review is the final part of this overarching inquiry. The aim of this final section of the inquiry is to identify areas for improvement and set out recommendations for future conduct so that these types of cases are handled more effectively by all involved, thereby producing better outcomes. In addition to this, the Inspectorate will assess professional policing as a whole to ensure victims have sufficient support and that investigations are being correctly led. It is essential that the perpetrators of these appalling crimes are brought to justice and that punishments serve as a deterrent to others.

Forbes comments:

CSE crimes are a blight on our society. These crimes continue to cause serious and significant harm to victims all over the country. Just as the Baird Inquiry forced GMP to recognise previous failings, so the Inspectorate’s inquiry can hopefully bring about positive change. It is clear that GMP intends to interact positively with the Inspectorate, and GMP’s desire for improvement can be seen in the recent case of Ezekiel Baddoo whereby GMP secured a civil order to safeguard vulnerable children from this man who was known to exploit young people in Greater Manchester.  This is a new innovative method GMP are using to hinder the ability of offenders to exploit young people by placing conditions on who they can associate with and where they can go. Hence, acting as a safeguarding method to protect those at risk of exploitation. As well as this, the GMP has introduced ‘Challenger Teams’ who attempt to limit the availability for abusers to harm young people by restricting their use of social media which is a known method offenders use to begin exploitation. It is evident that GMP are trying to right previous wrongs by placing their efforts to decrease CSE crimes and successfully penalise offenders. This proactive intervention strategy may also assist social care teams within Local Authorities in protecting vulnerable children in their care and in the community as there is only so much social care can do with regards to actions that can be taken against abusers themselves. So whilst the Inspectorate Inquiry may expose more historic wrongdoings, it will help them achieve efficient policing policy on their handling of these types of cases, hopefully giving public assurances that young people in Greater Manchester are no longer as at much risk as before.