POLICE in Bolton have responded well to the risks posed by those who sexually exploit children, according to a new report.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) has released an inspection report into the child protection work carried out by Greater Manchester Police, following an inspection in July 2014.

The report forms part of a rolling programme of child protection inspections of all police forces in England and Wales.

Amongst many findings, inspectors commented that “some police divisions had responded well to the risks posed by those who sexually exploit children,” adding that these positive responses were most notable in Manchester, Rochdale and Bolton.

The report lists a number of elements of policing action across the whole force that they were pleased with, including a “strong commitment and visible leadership” for child protection as well as “clear plans for continued improvement of child protection services.”

Other positive findings from the inspection team included knowledgeable, skilled and dedicated staff responsible for managing child abuse investigations and good relationships with partner agencies.

However, the inspectors were concerned with a number of findings from their inspection including “significant delays” in the investigation of a number of child protection cases, inconsistent practice across the force when dealing with such issues and limited evidence of review or audit of child protection work in order to improve future practice.

There were also concerns raised that children were being unnecessarily detained overnight in some cases.

HM Inspector of Constabulary Mike Cunningham said: “I am pleased to see the clear commitment to protecting children shown by both the leaders and the dedicated staff within Greater Manchester Police. We found that staff managing child protection investigations were knowledgeable and dedicated to providing good outcomes for children.

“I was concerned that inspectors found significant delays in the investigation of a number of child protection cases, and would like to see these delays reduced. There were instances of children being unnecessarily detained in custody overnight, which I would also like to see addressed.

“I encourage Greater Manchester Police to act on our recommendations as a matter of urgency, and have asked that within six weeks it provides us with an action plan to demonstrate how it will act upon these recommendations.”