ESSEX Police has made great strides in dealing with vulnerable people after it was previously branded inadequate by a police watchdog, according to a new report.

A report by the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), which was released yesterday, shows the force made significant improvements in its approach to dealing with victims of domestic abuse, responding to missing children and tackling child sexual exploitation.

Inspectors revisited the force in December following a damning review of services six months earlier, which concluded that Essex Police was struggling to provide an effective service.

They were particularly concerned about a backlog of incidents at the force control room, with police not attending, or failing to contact victims after their initial call.

On their return, inspectors noted there had been a change of culture, especially when it came to safeguarding children.

The report stated: “HMIC observed a change of mindset and approach to vulnerability across the force, putting children and vulnerable people at the centre of everything the force does.”

Inspectors noted that frontline staff attending domestic abuse incidents understood the need to report on how children living at the addresses would be affected.

The main area of concern remains in relation to online paedophilia, with inspectors saying specialist teams at Essex Police were unable to deal with the number of cases.

The report stated: “The demand is such that the online team cannot investigate all cases.

“This is despite the force deploying additional officers into the unit.

“The workload at the time of our inspection was 272 cases, an average of about 20 per detective.

Chief Constable Stephen Kavanagh welcomed the findings of the report.

He said: “When we get things wrong it is right that we are held to account.

“We are now getting things right and are channelling our limited resources towards the people who need our help the most the vulnerable members of our community who we all need to protect and support.”