Three inadequate ratings. One adequate. One requiring improvement. That is the formal inspection verdict on how Gloucestershire Constabulary safeguards children at risk.

On 21 May 2025, His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services published its findings following a National Child Protection Inspection of Gloucestershire Constabulary. The inspection was carried out between 2 and 13 December 2024. The findings were unambiguous.

HM Inspector Michelle Skeer identified three formal causes of concern.

Leadership of child protection — inadequate.The constabulary's governance arrangements for child protection were not effective. Leaders were unclear as to how the constabulary was improving its performance on child protection. They were also unclear on their strategic work on improving outcomes for children.

Response to children at risk of harm — inadequate.The constabulary was failing to properly record reports of vulnerable missing children. In the period sampled, ten out of nineteen missing children reports were not filed on the required system. The constabulary had been aware of concerns since October 2023. It had been too slow in addressing them.

Investigation of child abuse, neglect and exploitation — inadequate.Officers and staff did not always take a child-centred approach. The inspectors regularly found delays in starting investigations, with enquiries often not pursued. In one investigation, officers did not record any updates for two months. The specialist child abuse investigation team should have had 35.27 full-time equivalent officers but could deploy only 19.05. The child exploitation team should have had 23.16 but could deploy only 13.08.

HM Inspector Skeer stated: "The constabulary needs to improve how it manages, supervises and carries out investigations when children are abused, neglected or exploited. Leaders aren't clear as to how the constabulary is improving its performance on child protection. Nor are they clear on their strategic work on improving outcomes for children."

The Police and Crime Commissioner's response

Police and Crime Commissioner Chris Nelson published a public statement the same day. He described the overall picture as damning. He said it would be soul-destroying for the many dedicated and talented officers who work in this field. He stated: "It is very concerning that the Constabulary has been aware of concerns for some time but has been too slow in addressing them." He noted that serious concerns remained and that he had already made his feelings known about senior leadership and resourcing in the strongest possible way. He demanded a report in three months to set out detailed progress against the HMICFRS recommendations.

The wider context

These findings arrived in a county whose children's services had carried two inadequate Ofsted ratings, judicial condemnation from the most senior family judge in the region, multiple serious case reviews, and fifteen years of documented failure. They arrived in the county where, in 2019, a family court judge determined I was an emotionally unfit mother without a single clinical assessment, and where the same institutions that made and enforced that determination have since been found failing by every oversight body that examined them.

When the national inspectorate and the elected Commissioner both say the same thing about the same institution in the same week, the question is no longer whether the system has failed. The question is who is accountable for it.

References

Child Protection must be improved, says PCC https://www.gloucestershire-pcc.gov.uk/keeping-updated/latest-news-and-pccs-blog/news/2025/may/child-protection-must-be-improved-says-pcc/

Gloucestershire Constabulary: National child protection inspection https://hmicfrs.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/publication-html/gloucestershire-national-child-protection-inspection-may-2025/

MUST DO BETTER: Damning police failings exposed on child protection https://www.punchline-gloucester.com/articles/aanews/county-police-failings-exposed-on-child-protection