Harper Denton
15 Sept 2022 · Coroner Emma Whitting · Bedfordshire and Luton
The coroner's concerns
1. lack of adoption of guidance on managing sexual and violent offenders
“The MPS does not appear to have adopted ACPO Guidance on Protecting the Public: Managing Sexual Offenders and Violent Offenders 2010 and subsequent APP College of Policing MOSOVO Guidance, particularly with respect to PDPs”
2. lack of proactive information sharing to protect children
“There appears to be a lacuna in pro-active information sharing practices by Police (similar to those found under Clare's Law and Sarah's Law) in order to protect children from those who may present a threat to them as a result of having previous convictions for violence/cruelty offences against a child”
3. absence of offender register for cruelty offenders
“There is nothing today, such as form of Offender Register, to protect children from an individual who has already been convicted of a cruelty offence against a child and served their sentence”
4. non-mandatory safeguarding assessment for health visitors
“The need for a Health Visitor to carry out a full safeguarding assessment of a father's/co- parent's potential risks to a child is currently only 'best practice' and not mandatory”