Constabulary earns ‘Good’ ratings for child safeguarding and leadership

A specialist-led inspection has rated Cumbria Constabulary “Good” for its leadership and partnership approach to protecting children. The inspection, carried out by HMICFRS, recognises the Constabulary’s clear commitment to child-centred policing, strong leadership oversight and effective collaboration with partner agencies. A strong partnership approach remains central to how the force protects and supports vulnerable children. While the report also identifies areas for improvement, the Constabulary has already taken action to address these. Importantly, there are no concerns that children are currently at risk, and the force remains focused on continually strengthening its approach. Cumbria Constabulary is committed to ongoing improvement and will continue to build on these findings. Since this inspection, the Constabulary has undergone a wider inspection on the Constabulary effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy where several areas relating to safeguarding and investigations have been re-inspected – full findings of this inspection are expected to be published later this summer. Within eight weeks of publication, Cumbria Constabulary will provide HMICFRS with a detailed action plan outlining how the force will implement the recommended areas of improvement. Assistant Chief Constable Dave Stalker, Cumbria Constabulary, said: “Our officers and staff work hard round-the-clock all-year-long to do their best to protect children and bring anyone who abuses them to justice. “We welcome the many acknowledgements of the good and innovative work carried out by officers and staff to safeguard children who are at risk. “We are pleased that the inspection recognises the strength of our leadership and the close partnership working that underpins our approach to safeguarding children. Protecting young people is a shared responsibility, and we continue to work closely with local and national partners to ensure children and families receive the support they need. “We fully accept the areas identified for improvement and have already begun taking action to strengthen our response, particularly in relation to investigations. We are committed to building on the progress highlighted in this report to ensure every child we serve is protected and supported as effectively as possible.” Cumbria’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, David Allen, said: “Cumbria Constabulary is in a positive position in their approach to protecting children and Chief Constable should be proud of his Officers and staff and how they handle crimes involving our youngest and most vulnerable residents. “However, there are improvements to be made, and we are not a Constabulary that rests on our laurels – these improvements are already in motion. Protecting victims and reducing the opportunity for perpetrators to re-offend is an upmost priority and I know that Cumbria Constabulary are committed to protecting children across the county and bringing criminals to justice. “We are continuously working to identify ways in which we can improve services to victims and protect vulnerable people. For example, my office played a critical leadership role in identifying the need to improve the use of language in domestic abuse policing & safeguarding children, recognising that language has a direct impact on victim experience and case outcomes. By partnering with Professor Canning Pask at Northumbria University, my office ensured the programme was grounded in robust academic evidence and best practice, adapting research into practical learning for officers, using Cumbrian examples. Through targeted funding, we were able to develop and deliver a structured training programme designed to raise awareness of problematic language in both victim interactions and case documentation, strengthen understanding of how language influences those investigations and outcomes, and support officers to improve practice through reflection, real-case examples, and constructive alternatives—ultimately improving the response to victims and survivors. Officers of all ranks in Cumbria have received this training to combat victim-blaming vocabulary and, so far, 464 officers and staff have taken part in this. “The wider HMICFRS PEEL Inspection report is due and I will provide an update on any improvements to the public so that they can continue to have confidence in their police. “I will continue to hold the Chief Constable to account to ensure we become an even stronger and more effective Constabulary in relation to protecting children.”