Mother of Baby P released from prison
By Gemma Raw
Tracey Connelly, the mother of 17-month old Peter Connelly (initially known only as Baby P) has been released from prison despite calls from Secretary of State for Justice, Dominic Raab, to reconsider her parole. Although she will spend the rest of her life under licence with more than 20 conditions, her release will send shock-waves through the social work community.
Peter suffered horrendous abuse at the hands of Tracey Connelly, her partner Steven Barker and his brother, Jason Owen, who were also imprisoned. Coroners revealed that he had over 50 injuries at the time of his death, including a broken back. Although he had been visited more than 60 times by social workers, police and health professionals during the last eight months of his life, countless opportunities to save his life were missed.
Despite opposition from Dominic Raab and others, who called on an independent Judge to overrule the decision to release Ms Connelly, the Parole Board released a statement saying:
“Following the reconsideration application from the secretary of state, a judge has ruled that the decision made by independent Parole Board members to release was not irrational, as stated in the reconsideration application, and the original decision is upheld."
This is the second time that she has been released on licence. The first was in 2013, but she was later recalled to prison for breaking the conditions of her parole.
As part of her parole she is living at a specified address under the supervision of probation. Wearing an electronic tag, she must stick to a curfew and disclose details of all her relationships and must keep away from specified locations to “avoid contact with victims and to protect children”.
Lessons learned
11 November 2008, the day when all three perpetrators were found guilty of causing the horrific death of Peter, marks a significant date for the social work community. It was the first day of extensive reporting into what became known as the Baby P case. The public turned its attention away from those who had committed the heinous acts to those who should have been there to protect him.
Two years after sentencing, a serious case review revealed that Peter’s death should and could have been prevented. Every agency involved in safeguarding and caring for him, including the Police, social services and health, had been “well motivated” to protect him but their collective and individual practice was found to be inadequate and failed to challenge his mother’s excuses for his maltreatment.
The impact, for those who can remember, was felt across the frontline. There was not a single social worker who was not aware of the case.
Thankfully, and although sadly too late for Peter, many lessons have been learned following his death. A Lord Laming report identified 58 recommendations for improving child protection measures before the government commissioned Professor Eileen Munro’s root and branch review of child protection. Among many observations, Munro observed that social services (across England and Wales) had become so focused on complying with procedures and regulations that professional skill and the focus on relationships had eroded effective social work practice.
In response, Munro set a blueprint in 2011 for a “child-centred” system that would help social workers and other professionals make the best judgments they could. The review also saw the creation of two new roles: a principal child and family social worker in every local authority and a national chief social worker. Since then, there have been many reports and reviews of social work, with the biggest yet to come as the government commits to major reforms to improve the lives of England’s most vulnerable children and families.
We just hope that the reforms give social workers and other frontline professionals the support and capacity they need to safeguard against other such cases.
As always, our thoughts are with Peter, and his other family members and friends whose lives were also affected by his death.
