FGM should not be prosecuted, police force says as it claims best course of action is to 'educate parents'

Parents caught practising female genital mutilation on their children should not be prosecuted, a police force has claimed as it says the best course of action is to “educate parents”.

The claims, made by West Midlands Police on social media yesterday, have provoked criticism from MPs and child welfare activists, who said the force’s reluctance to seek prosecution was “deeply disturbing”.

The feud comes after a spokesman for the force claimed that it was against “prosecuting/jailing” parents who had carried out FGM on the grounds that it would be “unlikely to benefit” children who fall victim to the crime.

Instead, they claimed that the force had opted to focus on “education and safeguarding vulnerable girls”, rather than seeking prosecution in court.

The stance appears to contradict efforts made by Theresa May whilst Home Secretary to clamp down on the crime, following disclosures last year that there has not been a single conviction for FGM in the UK - despite it being an offence since 1985.

Tim Loughton, a member of the Home Affairs Committee, said the reluctance to pursue prosecution was “extremely dangerous”, adding it made “no sense” to go after cases of historic child abuse whilst at the same time allowing FGM offenders to “get away with it”.

“It is absolutely key to expose perpetrators and to nail them for it,” he added. “The police must go after offenders. This is deeply disturbing because a key part of eradicating the violence of FGM is exposing, prosecuting, and nailing the perpetrators.

“This is something the Home Affairs Committee has looked into closely. Our report in September raised key concerns that nobody has been prosecuted, and that we need a high level prosecution to show people that this is a serious criminal offence.

“Every time a prosecution fails to materialise, it encourages those that are behind this - that it is not a serious crime, and they can get away it.”

Echoing Mr Loughton’s comments, the NSPCC said that police forces must pursue prosecution where necessary to act as a proper deterrent.

An estimated 137,000 women and girls living in the UK having moved here from countries where the abuse is still practised are believed to have been victims of FGM. The number of British FGM victims is currently unknown.

However, there is yet to be a single conviction for the crime; police forces across the country have carried out only a small number of investigations since 2003.

Wendy Bird, detective inspector at West Midlands Police, said the force was committed to “raising awareness” and educating against the dangers of FGM.

“We continue to lead the way in the use of new FGM Protection Orders to safeguard women and girls thought to be at risk. If a victim is identified we safeguard other children within the family and potentially any unborn children.

A spokesman for the Home Office said it had “significantly strengthened” the law in recent years, adding that the FGM must be viewed as a crime and child abuse.