IT system failure leaves 644 child abuse cases unreported to police
The Queensland Government said that more than 600 alleged cases of child abuse were not forwarded to police even after those had been reported by school principals due to a system failure. A contractor and a manager, responsible for the system, were asked to stand aside after Education Minister Kate Jones had launched internal and external reviews.
The unreported cases are now being reviewed by police, who are trying to make sure if the children involved in the alleged crime are safe. However, it is not clear at the moment if any of the victims has suffered further abuse as the cases were not reported due to the system failure.
Jones said that a coding failure in the new child protection IT system was responsible for the lapse. The new child protection system started in January 2015. “I think it is an expectation of every single one of us that if you are making a change to an IT system, the very first thing you would do is test that system properly,” ABC quoted her, “Clearly there were not enough checks and balances at the time to ensure the changes made in January were working.”
The lapse was detected only on Thursday. Jones said that the number one priority had always been to ensure the safety of children. The government has acted promptly to make sure that police review every reported case of child abuse as urgently as possible, she said.
Brisbane Times reported that the One School reporting system, implemented on Jan. 22, allowed principals to report cases to police in three categories. The first category is for the potential risk for a child at home, the second for a child at risk of neglect and the third for a child suspected to be a victim of abuse even though the parents act in the best interest of the child.
According to Acting Assistant Police Commissioner Cameron Harsley, police have been assessing a total number of 644 missed notifications. However, he stressed that school principals would have approached police officers directly if any child was suspected to be in immediate danger.
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