§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the definition is of trawling, in relation to sex abuse cases; and what research has been done by the HMIC to ascertain the effectiveness of the trawling process. [35957]
§ Mr. DenhamI refer to a letter sent by my predecessor (Mr. Clarke) in February of last year which addressed this subject.
The term "trawling" has been used by critics of the police to describe the process by which police investigations into serious allegations of historical sexual abuse in children's homes and other institutions trace 482W potential witnesses. As such, it is not for my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary to provide a definition of a term he considers unhelpful and pejorative and is not normally used by the police.
The process referred to by the term is an investigative method which involves sampling from an often long list of potential witnesses who may have information that can be used to corroborate or rebut an allegation of sexual abuse which may have taken place a considerable time beforehand. Due to the very complex nature of these investigations, witness evidence is often paramount due to the lack of forensic and other evidence after the passage of time since the alleged offences.
The Code of Practice issued under Part II of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 sets out general responsibilities for officers conducting investigations into allegations that a crime has been committed. Under the code, police officers conducting an investigation should pursue all reasonable lines of inquiry, whether these point towards or away from the suspect. The practice referred to is established practice as the best use of police resources in eliciting information to assist an investigation.
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) undertook a thematic inspection into child protection in 1999 and is currently taking a major part in an inspection of safeguards for children's welfare led by the Social Services Inspectorate. HMIC also routinely conduct detailed force inspections, which include arrangements for child abuse and major crime investigations. None of these has, thus far, thrown doubt over the quality of investigation into institutional child abuse allegations; nor has any evidence to support concerns into the sampling of historic institutional child abuse allegations been brought to the attention of HMIC or the Association of Chief Police Officers.