National Recognition for Cleveland Police Officers
Wednesday, 13 October, 2010
Detective Chief Inspector Alastair Simpson and Detective Constable Jane Laird
A team from Cleveland Police has received a national award from the Association of Chief Police Officers for its work on the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Pilot.
Cleveland Police was one of four forces nationally to trial the pilot in September 2008 in the Stockton area. A specialist team was set up to implement the scheme and in March 2009 the pilot was rolled out to the rest of the Force area.
The aim of the scheme was to enhance child protection measures that are already in place, by providing a more formal mechanism for parents, carers or guardians to apply for information about whether individuals who have regular contact with their children are registered child sex offenders.
As a result of enquiries received under the pilot, a number of safeguarding concerns were highlighted and action taken to protect children.
The ACPO Public Protection Award 2010 was presented to Detective Chief Inspector Alastair Simpson from the team at the national conference.
He said: "We are delighted to have been chosen as an area to pilot such an important piece of work, and we know that this scheme has already made a difference in safeguarding children across the Cleveland Police area.
"We are fortunate to have the resources to continue the work on the scheme, and share good practice with other Forces that are rolling it out."
Chief Constable of Cleveland Police Sean Price said: "Alastair and the rest of the team have put a huge amount of work into ensuring that the scheme had the proper processes in place so that it made a difference.
"We have always said that if just one child was safeguarded, this would be a success, but we know that action has been taken in far more cases and I am pleased that the team has been recognised at a national level for their efforts."
There is a dedicated helpline for the scheme - 01642 302902 and further information is available on the Cleveland Police website - www.cleveland.police.uk.
For further information about recognising signs of child abuse, members of the public can be directed towards the Stop It Now! Helpline on 0808 1000 900.
The latest rollout earlier this month means that 26 forces are operating the scheme, which is also being supported by a new website - www.parentsprotect.co.uk. This along with hosting the learning programme, is designed to raise awareness of the issue of child sexual abuse, answer questions and give adults the information they need to help protect children.
The three other pilot areas for the scheme - Hampshire, Warwickshire and Cambridgeshire also received the award.
