Cleveland Police confirms new chief constable as Victoria Fuller
Chair of the all-party panel councillor Tony Riordan said she had been enthusiastic about continually improving the force during her hearing."We felt she impressed us all with her wealth of operational knowledge, her vision for the force and her passion for providing the people of Cleveland with a first-class police service," he said.Previous chief constable Mr Webster had been appointed in 2022, and helped lift the troubled force out of special measures.The force had been described as "clueless" and was found to be putting the public at risk, before eventually being assessed to have made "significant" improvements by 2023.Police and Crime Commissioner Matt Storey said: "She brings stability to Cleveland Police at a time when it is more important than ever to maintain the outstanding progress highlighted during the force's last inspection."Mrs Fuller is expected to take up her post in July when Mr Webster retires.
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The Independent
29 minutes ago
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Daily Mail
37 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Man accused of murdering mother-of-six dog walker had previously been jailed for attacking a pensioner that left him with TEN titanium plates in his head, court told
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
GMP better on grooming gangs as more than 1,000 suspects under investigation
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Michelle Skeer, His Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary, said: 'We found that since 2019, when Greater Manchester Police started to review its non-recent child sexual exploitation investigations, the force has improved its understanding and approach to investigating allegations of child criminal and sexual exploitation. 'It is clear that the force has, for many years, been trying to provide a better service to those who have or may have experienced sexual exploitation. 'But for some, trust and confidence in the police had been lost, and the force would not be able to rectify their experiences. 'It is vital that improvements are led by victims' experiences, and if they do come forward, they are supported, protected and taken seriously.' The report from inspectors found current Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson and other senior officers make sure all ranks understand child protection is a priority, it said, with he or deputy chief constables having personally spoken to every supervisor in the force about it. The report states: 'Officers told us that, due to a cultural shift in Greater Manchester Police, investigating child sexual exploitation is now considered 'everyone's business'.' Grooming gangs also 'feature heavily' in chief officer meetings, with performance monitored closely, the report said. GMP is the only force in the country to set up a dedicated team to investigate grooming gangs, which it did in 2021, now called the Child Sexual Exploitation Major Investigation Team (CSE MIT), with around 100 staff and a ring-fenced budget. The force also approaches child sexual exploitation as it does serious and organised crime gangs, using specialist tactics. In October 2024, the force told inspectors there were 59 live multi-victim multi-offender child sexual exploitation investigations, of which 13 were being managed by the CSE MIT. In these active investigations, there were 714 victims and survivors, and 1,099 suspects. The force has also recorded demographic data, such as the age, sex and ethnicity of potential victims and suspects and uses 'intelligence products' to produce 'problem profiles' to detail emerging threats and risks. A recent report by Baroness Casey found a significant over-representation of Asian men who are suspects in grooming gangs in Greater Manchester, adding though authorities are in 'denial' more needs to be done to understand why this is the case. Inspectors also said the force is aware of 'training gaps' in some investigation teams and that some victims had been let down in the way their case was handled. And the report also pointed to issues with data sharing, with local councils sometimes not willing to provide detectives with information, leading to 'significant delays in investigations' into grooming gangs. It cites problems with intelligence provided by Manchester City Council, which took months to arrive and 'was so heavily redacted that some pages contained only a few words,' the report said. Nevertheless, so far, the CSE MIT and the earlier grooming gang investigations have resulted in 42 convictions and more than 430 years imprisonment for offenders. Investigations are ongoing and several more trials are scheduled. The report adds: 'The force fully accepts that it made mistakes in the past. 'It has taken positive and effective steps to learn from these mistakes and improve how it investigates recent and non-recent child sexual exploitation.' Responding to the report, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: 'I am confident in my view that the Greater Manchester system is in a demonstrably different and far stronger place today than it was when the failings happened. 'The effect of the assurance review I commissioned has been to usher in widespread culture change across all GM bodies. Never again will any child here be labelled or dismissed when they come forward to report concerns.' Mr Burnham said he felt 'vindicated' by the Government's decision to launch a national inquiry into grooming gangs, following an independent review by Baroness Louise Casey. 'Because of the inevitable limitations of a local review like this, I was an early supporter of a national inquiry to bring accountability of decision-makers and Baroness Casey herself has said that there would not be a national inquiry were it not for the Greater Manchester review,' he said. 'We can feel vindicated by that. 'Now the national inquiry is being put in place, we must allow victims the space and the right climate to have their voices heard, allow the actual truth to be established and accountability delivered.'
