Saturday 13 September 2008

Lessons Learned! (no, not really...)

A judge yesterday condemned social services for failing to protect a baby girl who was shaken to death by her violent father.
...
He spoke out after hearing how she was removed from the at risk register by social workers only weeks before she was shaken 'like a rag doll' by her father Gary Allen, 26.
It's the usual story of the underclass - unmarried mother meets unemployed man, is 'in fear' of him but goes on to have a child with him and marry him (the only surprising aspect of the case!), then he shakes the child to death.

What did he get for killing the child? Five years. The 'mother' got a one year sentence, suspended for two years. It's enough to make a stone weep...
Gail Hopper, chairman of Durham Local Safeguarding Children Board, said: 'Shortly after Alisha's death, we initiated a serious case review.

'The agencies involved have taken lessons learned from this process and have instigated any improvements to their practice and procedures or other action they deemed necessary.'
Ah, the old excuses are the best, aren't they Gail..?

3 comments:

Will Williams said...

You can't help wondering what an FoI request in nine months time would find as examples of changes from these lessons learned

Will

Anonymous said...

Well, that's if they didn't simply avoid answering it. Though if NuLabour get their way, they'll be exempt before long...

Anonymous said...

Let's find a case from 9 months or more ago and put in a FOI request for it now