North Yorkshire Police says it has acted at speed to correct failures identified in an inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary.
The inspectors concluded investigations, including those involving missing children and child sexual exploitation, were being handed to inexperienced officers who lacked support.
Assistant Chief Constable Lindsey Butterfield says a number of actions have been taken.
The inspectors found the force needed to improve speaking to children, recording their behaviour and demeanour, listening to their concerns and views, and using that information to make decisions about their welfare.
Assistant Chief Constable Butterfield says training for detectives involved in child neglect investigations in North Yorkshire has been stepped up.
North Yorkshire Police’s most senior officer Lisa Winward said while the force had acted at speed in recent months to correct failures identified in the inspection by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services, it had scores of vacant detective posts.
The chief constable added the force was doing everything it could to speed up the process of people becoming detectives and was opening up new routes to recruit graduates and those solely interested in becoming an investigator.
Efforts to turn around staffing shortages include the force looking at becoming one of the first non-Metropolitan forces to introduce direct entry for detectives from next year, as it had been proven to be an effective means of attracting the right people into policing.
Lisa Winward said a third of the force’s total capacity of detectives still needed to be recruited, that's around 40 detectives.
The chief constable said the force had taken the findings of the inspection “extremely seriously”, particularly as “protecting children in our communities is the most important thing we can do as a police service”.
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