More than a third of child abuse investigations by the police are inadequate, a damning report by watchdogs has warned.
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary found 38 per cent of inquiries in a sample of nearly 600 were not conducted to a good enough standard.
Among cases involving online child abuse performance was even worse, the inspectors found.
A national sample of 124 online abuse cases found 52 per cent were not investigated properly – and in one unnamed police force a staggering 72 per cent were sub-standard.
