DORSET Police is in the firing line as the head of Ofsted highlights concerns about the failure of some forces to take their child protection responsibilities seriously.

Sir Michael Wilshaw refers to failings by Dorset Police in a letter to HM Inspectorate of Constabulary Sir Thomas Winsor.

He has alerted Sir Thomas of his 'growing concerns' after more than half of Ofsted's 42 inspections of local authority children's services identified serious weaknesses in the contribution made by the police to safeguarding children.

As reported in the Echo earlier this year, Dorset's children's services was rated as 'requires improvement. Inspectors said the Dorset Safeguarding Children Board (DSCB) is 'inadequate' and marked one 'serious failure.'

The police's role in this is highlighted in the letter by Sir Michael.

He specifically mentions failings by Dorset Police when referring to the importance of attending child protection conferences and backlogs in Disclosure and Barring Service.

Of the importance of child protection conferences, he says: "Although police attendance at these meetings is required by statutory guidance, this does not always happen. Inspectors have come across cases where the local authority had to take decisions about children and their families without access to vital information from the police. This was found to be a problem in Bury, in Peterborough, in West Sussex and also in Dorset, where in over a third of child protection conferences the police were not in attendance."

Regarding the DBS backlog, Sir Michael says in his letter: "Delays by the police in vetting people to work with children was another common problem. In Dorset, a failure by police to complete DBS checks promptly led to delays in clearing potential adopters which meant children were having to wait too long before they could settle with a family."

A Dorset Police spokesman said: During 2015, Dorset Police experienced delays in processing applications which led to a considerable backlog. This was caused in part by a turnover in staff and an increase in the volume of applications.

"The force, with support from the national Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), invested significantly by recruiting new staff and more than doubling the size of our dedicated disclosure team.

"When taking into account that the force receives about 600 applications each week, we are pleased to say that we have effectively reduced our queue.

"Dorset Police understands the frustration which was created by delays and apologises for any inconvenience that had been caused. We fully recognise the impact that the delays had on people and employers."

Regarding thild protection conferences, Detective Chief Inspector Gavin Dudfield of Dorset Police said: “Protecting and safeguarding children is a force priority and we have a dedicated team that actively investigates cases of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) and helps children who are considered to be at risk of CSE within Dorset. "These children will immediately receive a multi-agency response in order to support, safeguard and educate them.

“Where possible positive action will be taken to arrest suspects, disrupt them and bring them to justice.

“We do work closely with our partners in children’s services and partners in the Local Safeguarding Children’s Board (LSCB).

“Where advanced invites are received for initial child protection conferences a report will always be submitted, and almost every conference will be attended in person. We also attend subsequent review conferences where there is an ongoing involvement with the police.

“In all cases where invites are received in advance, police research databases and share information with partner agencies where appropriate, providing information to the chair of the conference.”