PROTECTING and safeguarding children remains the "top priority" for West Yorkshire Police, despite warnings from a police watchdog that forces across the UK need to change their approach to avoid "failing a new generation of children".

The HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) published three reports today relating to the investigation of child protection procedures over the past 18 months, focusing on the role of the police in keeping children safe, how forces deal with the online exploitation of children, and how police share and cross-check information in cases involving children.

HMIC said that on too many occasions, investigations into child abuse were "poor and plagued by delay", while the response to reports of offences against children was "inadequate."

The overall findings of the three reports suggested an "under-recognition and under-estimation of risk" by police, with a warning that forces would not be able to cope with an increased number of child protection cases.

HM chief inspector of constabulary, Sir Thomas Winsor, said: "Reactive policing is only a part of the function of the police, and chief constables, police and crime commissioners, and others should never dismiss or disregard the imperative of keeping everyone safe, especially the silent, the fearful, and the weak.

"Not least, this is because the true scale of this type of offending is still to be measured.

"What we have so far seen is only the tip of an iceberg."

HMIC examined West Yorkshire Police's work on child protection last August as part of a nationwide programme of inspections, with the findings published in January.

The report found a "clear commitment" to improving child protection services by "knowledgeable and dedicated" officers, but raised concerns over delays in complex and prolonged cases, poor recording of information on police systems, levels of child detention, and an "inconsistent" approach to child sexual exploitation issues across the force area.

The force was asked to produce an action plan on how to implement recommendations from the report, and Russ Foster, assistant chief constable at West Yorkshire Police, said this had now been completed and quality assured by the inspectorate.

"HMIC visited the force in August 2014, whilst we were in the throes of a comprehensive review of our safeguarding units and looking at enhancing service delivery, refining our structures, and better managing our demand with a view to providing a consistently high-quality service to protect children across the five districts of West Yorkshire," he said.

"Issues were identified for improvement by the HMIC and we produced an action plan to address them.

"That plan has been accepted and we are now working to embed it within the force area.

“We have increased resources dedicated to investigating these offences, including appointing more staff to tackle child sexual exploitation across all districts, and improved multi-agency working with partners in local authorities and charities to ensure joined up approaches to safeguarding.

"Protecting and safeguarding children is West Yorkshire Police’s top priority, and we remain committed to doing everything we can to minimise the risks."

To tackle the threat of online-grooming, the force established its award-winning 'Know the Signs' campaign in 2013, adding the complimentary 'Do You Know Who Are You Talking To?' initiative last year.

Mark Burns-Williamson, police and crime commissioner for West Yorkshire, said tackling child sexual exploitation was also one of his "top priorities", highlighting the face that £3.5million had been made available to West Yorkshire Police last year to tackle the issue, with another £440,000 allocated to raise awareness in schools, increase support for victims, and improve information sharing on vulnerable people across local authorities.