CHILDREN’S charity the NSPCC has said it is ‘very concerned’ by revelations that Thames Valley Police could be 'failing child victims of sex offences'.
Inspectors branded the force ‘inadequate’ in a critical report, published yesterday, after finding that 35,200 reported crimes a year – including assaults and rapes – are not being properly recorded.
Yesterday, TVP was urged to take note of the recommendations made by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary.
A spokesman for the NSPCC said: “It is very concerning that some child sex offences are going unrecorded by Thames Valley Police, which could mean vulnerable young victims are being denied the vital support they are entitled to.
“However, safeguarding procedures are being implemented and overall improvement in recording crimes is a positive step that should be built upon.
“Thames Valley Police must now act to carry out all the of the HMIC’s important recommendations without delay and ensure victims are at the heart of their determined work to keep us safe.”
Tom Hayes, Oxford City Council’s lead member for community safety, placed the blame wit police and crime commissioner Anthony Stansfeld.
He said: “The public will rightly wonder why their directly elected commissioner hasn’t got a grip on a problem which affects their lives and experiences of policing.”
In a statement, deputy police and crime commissioner Matthew Barber said he was ‘disappointed’ .
He said that work needed to be done to improve.
In yesterday’s report on the inspection, the first line of the story said that Thames Valley Police records only one fifth of the crime reported to it.
As clarified elsewhere in the piece, it is in fact one fifth of crime that goes unrecorded, with about 80 per cent of reported crime is recorded.
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