Jersey's States Police have been praised for their improved handling of cases involving the protection of children at risk of harm from domestic abuse.
A peer review by Guernsey Police in October and November, and recently released, says "the SOJP are considered to be an exemplar in the environs of CP [child protection] and DA [domestic abuse]".
The report also says the Police have "demonstrated a clear commitment to develop both organisationally and on an individual level" and "there is a clear intention of all officers and staff of the SOJP to continue to improve and develop".
The peer review also found some areas that need improvement and issues a set of 26 recommendations. Among those is to fill what is called "a legislative gap relating to police bail." Currently, victims of domestic abuse and children protection are being exposed to a greater risk as police officers are unable to place suspects on release conditions prior to an appearance in court.
The review team noted that means more suspects than necessary are held in custody until court and that a greater pressure is placed on the court process. They describe the implementation of bail conditions pre-charge as "an invaluable tool for managing low end DV/CP risks" and therefore ask for "Police Bail legislative provisions to be prioritised for enactment."
Other recommendations include the provision of further child protection and domestic abuse training to response officers and control room staff. They also recommend guidance to be provided to officers and first line supervision to help gain more consistency in risk assessing as well as a better understanding on when to involve partner agencies and social workers.
The report states that the "review team were pleased to note that all officers and staff spoken with across the full range of departmental deployments and ranks were dedicated professionals who were clearly committed to safeguarding children and young people," but raised concerns about their welfare. It therefore suggests that the Police should consider providing "both mandatory (annual) welfare checks by a trained counsellor and optional welfare counselling" to specialist officers including those within the Public Protection Unit.
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