West Mercia police chief wants action to spot child sex crimes
More police officers and staff need to be trained to spot the signs of child sex exploitation, West Mercia's police and crime commissioner has said.
John Campion was speaking after a formal "holding to account" session with West Mercia's Chief Constable, Anthony Bangham, to discuss the force's ongoing work in tackling the problem.
Telford MP Lucy Allan, meanwhile, has called on Prime Minister Theresa May in the House of Commons to order an independent inquiry to find out what has gone wrong historically tackling the crime in the region.
A recent book release by a victim, writing under the pseudonym Holly Archer, also told of abuse as a teenager and claimed police did nothing to help her.
Telford & Wrekin Council has said such an inquiry is "unnecessary" because it has already co-operated with three probes this year including a recent Ofsted inspection. Mr Campion said he quizzed the Chief Constable on a number of areas including current police intelligence and training to increase numbers of child sexual exploitation trained officers.
He also asked how victims were being protected, perpetrators were being dealt with and whether all partner agencies were engaged.
Mr Campion said: "The meeting covered a lot of ground and reinforced for me that the police and partners fully recognise this issue and they are taking it very seriously.
"There are areas where I feel things could be improved, for example around resources and ensuring a greater number of officers and staff are trained to meet increasing demands.
"However, the force is well aware of where improvements can be made and they are working hard to address these areas.
"I will ensure they have the resources they need to deliver those improvements and will hold the Chief to account to ensure they happen in a timely way."
Leader Shaun Davies, at a meeting of Telford & Wrekin Council on Thursday, said he had written a letter to Home Secretary Amber Rudd. He said it had been signed by the bosses of agencies including Telford & Wrekin Clinical Commissioning Group, Mr Campion and some opposition councillors, outlining efforts to tackle the issue. He told the meeting the crime was the council's "top priority".
