We have been asked by the Archbishops’ Council to undertake a review of past safeguarding cases in our Diocese. This process is known as the Past Cases Review (or PCR2). The Diocese of Worcester has completed the Past Case Review 2 project, and have now published an executive summary.
The Past Cases Review is being carried out in all 42 dioceses in England. It will encompass all safeguarding cases – both children and vulnerable adults – from the early 1990s until 2019.
An earlier Past Cases Review took place between 2007 and 2009 to consider child protection cases only. There were a number of shortcomings and limitations in the process and as a result, the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England decided that the review should be undertaken again.
The objectives are as follows:
- To identify all cases of concern relating to clergy or church officers causing harm to children or adults and to ensure that they have been independently reviewed.
- To ensure that all identifiable safeguarding concerns relating to living clergy or church officers have been referred to the diocesan safeguarding adviser.
- To ensure that any allegation made since the original past cases review has been handled appropriately and proportionately to the level of risk identified and that the support needs of survivors have been considered.
- To ensure that cases meeting the relevant threshold have been referred to statutory agencies and that all cases have been managed in line with current safeguarding practice guidance.
In this way, the Church of England will be able to ensure that all known safeguarding cases have been appropriately managed, that all identified risks have been assessed and mitigated, and that the needs of any known victims have been addressed. The scope of PCR2 has been extended to include adult safeguarding cases.