Complaint relating to safeguarding of a teenager - Metropolitan Police Service, February 2018

In February 2018 a woman called 999 to report that her teenage son had been assaulted by a group of young men in south London. Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers took accounts from the mother and conducted an investigation into the allegations of assault. Due to the age of the young man, officers put in place safeguarding procedures. The investigating officer attempted to get a statement from the teenager, but he no longer wished to provide one. The investigating officer offered the young man and his mother a referral to a victim support charity, and the investigation was closed.

Following this, the woman contacted the investigating officer with concerns about her son’s safety. The investigating officer responded to these concerns.

In March 2018 the teenager was seriously assaulted. His mother lodged a complaint against the MPS.

During the investigation, our investigators obtained and reviewed statements from members of the public, intelligence relating to those involved and email exchanges between the investigating officer and the teenager’s mother. We reviewed this material in conjunction with relevant local and national policies and procedures.

We found that the officers who interacted with the teenager and his mother had acted within these policies and procedures.

The evidence indicated that the MPS identified and responded to their safeguarding obligations to the teenager and responded to the risk posed to him by investigating the assault that took place in February. We also found that the force had provided support to the teenager and his mother throughout the live investigation, and once the investigation had been closed.

Based on the evidence available no officers were believed to have acted in a manner which constituted a breach of the standards of professional behaviour. Neither did we consider that the performance of any officers had been unsatisfactory.

We did not uphold the woman’s complaint that the MPS had failed to safeguard her son. We completed our investigation in November 2018.