Lincolnshire Police must improve how it investigates child exploitation
19 Dec 2025 10:31 AM
Lincolnshire Police must improve how it investigates child sexual and criminal exploitation, and train more officers, the police inspectorate has said.
Get the report : Lincolnshire Police: accelerated causes of concern
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) said Lincolnshire Police is failing to effectively investigate when children are at risk of, or have been harmed by, criminal or sexual exploitation. The force also doesn’t have enough trained and accredited officers to investigate abuse and exploitation effectively.
HMICFRS has therefore issued two causes of concern to Lincolnshire Police. This process can be accelerated when a police force’s failures raise concerns about public safety – as is the case with Lincolnshire Police.
To address these concerns, HMICFRS has recommended that Lincolnshire Police needs to:
- produce a plan to meet its trained officer capacity and capability needs as quickly as possible;
- correctly identify children who are at risk, or have been harmed by, criminal or sexual exploitation;
- allocate exploitation investigations to trained officers who have the appropriate knowledge and skills;
- make sure supervisors regularly review investigations, record any outstanding actions and monitor deadlines for completion;
- follow all reasonable lines of enquiry to identify suspects;
- pursue evidence-led prosecutions and appropriate disruption activities when victims feel unable to provide active support for an investigation;
- effectively contribute to the multi-agency child exploitation meeting, so the partnership doesn’t leave children at risk of harm as a result of being discharged too early;
- make sure officers who have received Specialist Child Abuse Investigation Development Programme training complete portfolio registration with the College of Policing to allow them to be accredited; and
- make sure it has enough trained and qualified assessors available to oversee the portfolio completions to the required standard.
In December 2024, the inspectorate moved Lincolnshire Police into an enhanced level of monitoring, known as Engage. This process provides additional scrutiny and support from to help the force improve and provide a better service for the public.
His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Roy Wilsher said:
“I have issued two accelerated causes of concern to Lincolnshire Police as its standards for investigating child exploitation fall significantly below what we would expect.
“The force doesn’t correctly identify child exploitation or understand the effect it can have on children. Supervision of investigations is poor, and not all reasonable lines of enquiry are being pursued.
“There are also not enough trained officers to investigate child abuse and exploitation effectively. For example, there is only one accredited child abuse officer.
“The force must immediately produce a plan to increase trained officer capacity and capability. And it needs to make sure its investigations into children who are at risk of, or have been harmed by, criminal or sexual exploitation are effective.
“Although there is much the force can do to improve, I recognise that Lincolnshire Police is in a difficult financial position. As part of the enhanced monitoring process, alongside the National Police Chiefs Council, College of Policing and others, we will continue to support the force in making improvements.
“I urge the force to implement our recommendations as a matter of urgency so it can protect children from harm. We will be closely monitoring the force’s progress.”
Get the report : Lincolnshire Police: accelerated causes of concern
Notes
- For further information, please contact the HMICFRS Press Office on 0300 071 6781 or HMICPressOffice@hmicfrs.gov.uk.
- If our inspection identifies a serious or critical shortcoming in a force’s practice, policy, or performance, it will be reported as a cause of concern. A cause of concern will always be accompanied by one or more recommendations.
- When we identify causes of concern during our inspections, we normally provide details in the subsequent force report. In some cases, such as when we discover significant service failures or risks to public safety, we report our concerns and recommendations earlier. This is called an accelerated cause of concern.