No Missed Cases Following Safeguarding Review Of Churches

An independent safeguarding review examined more than 300 past files across Guernsey and Jersey's Anglican churches.

The Second Past Cases Review (PCR) took place across the Church of England in Britain, following concerns over how well an initial review conducted between 2007 and 2009 was carried out.

Nationally, this second review has uncovered more than 380 cases of past abuse that will be looked into.

The Dean of Guernsey, the Very Reverend Tim Barker, says no new cases were found in the Channel Islands:

"I'm relieved to say that no cases have been identified has having been missed in Guernsey and Jersey. But there have been a number across the Church of England and that's something for which we are very sorry."

23 known safeguarding cases for the islands were placed on a Known Cases List drawn up during this second review.   17 related to children and 6 to vulnerable adults.

The PCR found areas of good practice in the Channel Islands: 'It is obvious from the information reviewed that both Deans are actively engaged with safeguarding matters and are well supported by their respective safeguarding leads and Church Safeguarding Officers.'

The review made five recommendations into the way files of past actual or suspected abuse are maintained.

These include access to online passwords, a lack of standardisation in the way files are kept, and a need to contact the Diocese of Canterbury to see if it holds paperwork on cases. Many of these have been acted on.

Both the Dean of Guernsey and the Dean of Jersey say they feel satisfied that the PCR has been thorough:

"This has been a very comprehensive review and I think we have confidence that we have now identified all the cases across the whole of the Church of England." - Tim Barker, Dean of Guernsey.

" As a Deanery team, we remain committed to making our churches as safe as possible, with safeguarding officers in every church, appropriate training for all those who come into contact with children and vulnerable people, and robust processes in place so that we may maintain good practice, as well as working in partnership with Jersey Safeguarding Partnership Board.” - Mike Keirle, Dean of Jersey.

The local reports have been published in full on the Deanery of Guernsey and Deanery of Jersey websites.