The Conservative Party chairman and Thirsk and Malton MP has strongly criticised North Yorkshire Police over a case in his constituency.
Kevin Hollinrake spoke out after an incident involving an unnamed family who reported a suspected burglary.
North Yorkshire Police have responded at length to his concerns – you can read their response here.
Officers went to a farmhouse in November to investigate but then started conducting a safeguarding review over their concerns for the teenage children.
According to a letter sent to the MP from the Duty Inspector, it was sparked by officers finding sticky surfaces and dirty floors along with a strong odour. No further action was taken.
Mr Hollinrake branded the action “utterly disgraceful” and is demanding an explanation from the Chief Constable and Cllr Jo Coles, Deputy Mayor for Policing, Fire & Crime.
In a video posted to social media, he called it a “shocking case”.
The unnamed family “had a burglary, or they heard some noise outside their house and in the late evening next day, they’d found some keys out there. It looks like somebody had been messing around in their buildings outside.”
They rang police who sent an officer round. Mr Hollinrake said the officer went into the house and asked to see the children, who were in bed as it was about 10.30pm on a school night. She also asked to see in the fridge before filling in a public protection notice.
In a video posted to social media, the MP said: “The house is very confused by all this. I know the family very well. I’ve been to the house, they’re a typical farming family, very hard workers, an important part of our local economy.
“They said we’ve got some safeguarding issues with the children. Bearing in mind, this is a burglary being investigated, or attempted burglary, and the officer then wants to see the children, and actually wants to look inside the fridge and inside the pantry to make sure there’s enough food for these kids. And was all very strange.”
He added: “It just disgraceful. I just want the police to focus on their day jobs, which is chasing criminals, prosecuting, charging them and making sure they’re prosecuted and put in jail. That’s what should be happening.”
Officer’s ‘professionalism’
In a written response to Mr Hollinrake’s complaint, a North Yorkshire Police inspector said: “When attending any incident, officers are advised to exercise professional curiosity and look beyond the immediate circumstances.
“Police officers often find themselves in a unique position, with access to private homes during such visits, and are therefore well placed to identify potential safeguarding concerns.
“While at the address, noted a strong odour and that the property appeared unclean, with sticky and dirty surfaces and floors.
“She reported that, due to concerns for the welfare of the children present due to the apparent lack of hygiene, she submitted a Public Protection Notice (PPN).”
The officer described the family as “highly confrontational”, the letter writer said.
“Nevertheless, she continued to gather the necessary information in line with her training. This reflects the professionalism and resilience we expect from our officers when faced with challenging situations.”
No further action was taken on the PPN.
Mr Hollinrake says this shows the emphasis of the police is wrong.
“If the police did their day job, I think we’d all be a lot happier,” he said.
“And if the couple concerned told other people about this story, would other people be quite so keen to report these kind of crimes?
“They probably wouldn’t, because they think the hygiene police might come around, and you might be in trouble with them and social services.”
We have asked the Deputy Mayor for a response to the MP’s concerns and will update when it comes through.
The North Yorkshire Police response is here.
