Prevention of Future Deaths reports · 2022

Harper Denton

Regulation 28 report to prevent future deaths, reference 2022-0288, written 15 Sep 2022. A coroner writes one of these when an inquest reveals a risk that could cause further deaths unless something changes.

Date of report15 Sep 2022
Reference2022-0288
DeceasedHarper Denton
CoronerEmma Whitting
Coroner areaBedfordshire and Luton
CategoryChild Death (from 2015) · Other related deaths
Sourcejudiciary.uk record · original PDF
Responses published4

The report

Text extracted from the PDF text layer. Reproduced verbatim, including the scan's own layout.

Regulation  28:  REPORT TO PREVENT FUTURE  DEATHS 

NOTE:  This form  is  to  be  used  after an  inquest. 

REGULATION  28 REPORT TO  PREVENT 

DEATHS THIS REPORT IS BEING SENT TO: 

, COMMISSIONER FOR METROPOLITAN  POLICE 

1 
2  CEO  COLLEGE  OF POLICING 
3  CHAIR OF  NATIONAL POLICE CHIEFS' COUNCIL 
4  SECRETARY OF  STATE  FOR DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE 
5  SECRETARY OF STATE  FOR HOME  DEPARTMENT 

1 

CORONER 

I  am  Emma  WHITTING,  Senior Coroner for the coroner area  of Bedfordshire and  Luton 
Coroner Service 

2 

CORON ER'S LEGAL POWERS 

I  make this report under paragraph  7,  Schedule  5,  of the Coroners and Justice Act 
2009  and  regulations 28  and  29  of the Coroners  (Investigations)  Regulations  2013. 

3 

INVESTIGATION and I NQUEST 

On  30  October 2019 I  commenced  an  investigation  into the death  of Harper DENTON  aged  1 
Month. The investigation concluded  at the end  of the inquest on  17 August 2022. 
The  conclusion  of the inquest was  that: 

The  Deceased  was  unlawfully killed  by her father who had  been  previously convicted  of 
violent offences against a two year old;  failures  by state agencies sufficiently to manage the 
continued  high  level  of risk of his further offending  contributed  to her death. 

4 

CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE DEATH 
On  6  November 2019, 
imprisonment for her murder. It was  not the first time that 
had  brutally attacked an 
infant;  he  had  previously been  convicted  of violent offences against a 2 year old  child  in 

 the Deceased's father,  was  sentenced to  life 

2006.  Despite  being  given  a 9 year sentence,  he was  released  on  licence  in  July  2010 as 
dangerous as  he had  been  in  2006;  albeit his  licence conditions  required  him  not to  have 
unsupervised  contact with  children  under the age of 16 and  to disclose details of any new 
relationships.  Following  his release  in  2012,  he  came to the attention of the Metropolitan 
Police  Service and  was the subject of two CRIS  reports  involving  allegations  of Domestic 
Violence;  both reports involved  episodes of strangulation.  However, there  was a  lack of 
information sharing  with  Probation  at this time.  He  was  subsequently recalled  to  prison  for 
two 6  month  periods for breaches of his  licence  conditions before finally being  released  for 
the last time,  on  23 June  2014, to Approved  Premises accommodation in  London  with 
continued  restrictions regarding  any unsupervised access to children and  new  relationships, 
particularly with  women  and  children.  At the beginning  of December 2014, he moved into 
private accommodation  and,  within weeks,  was the subject of a  MARAC  referral  concerning 
further Domestic Violence;  although this was co-chaired  by the  MPS  a  lack of proper 
investigation, co-ordination  with  Probation  and  serious information failures  led to a missed 
opportunity not only to consider further criminal  proceedings but also to identify him as  a 
Potentially Dangerous  Person  and  to  manage the  high  risk he  continued to pose 
accordingly.  As  a  result,  later that same year,  he started  a  relationship with the Deceased's 
mother,  moved  into  her accommodation  in  Bedfordshire,  and the Deceased  was conceived 
without either her mother,  Bedfordshire Police,  or local  healthcare professionals,  being 
aware of the continued  risk he  posed to her;  however,  a chance encounter by Bedfordshire 

Regulation 28 - After Inquest 

Document Template Updated 30/07/2021 

 Police on  30  November 2017 was  a further missed  opportunity for multi-
agency safeguarding  prior to her death. 

5  CORONER'S CONCERNS 

During  the course  of the investigation my inquiries revealed  matters giving  rise to 
concern.  In my opinion there is a risk that future deaths could  occur unless action is 
taken.  In the circumstances  it is  my statutory duty to report to you. 

The  MATTERS OF CONCERN  are as  follows: 

POLICE 
1.The MPS  does not appear to have adopted ACPO  Guidance on  Protecting the Public: 
Managing Sexual Offenders and Violent Offenders 2010 and subsequent APP  College of 
Policing  MOSOVO  Guidance,  particularly with  respect to PDPs.  Because this concern 
maybe relevant to other police forces  nationally, this concern  is directed to the CEO 
College  of Policing  and  the Chair of the NPCC  as  well  as the Commissioner for the MPS. 
2. There  appears to  be  a lacuna  in  pro-active information  sharing  practices  by Police 
(similar to those  found  under Clare's Law and  Sarah's Law)  in  order to protect children 
from those who  may present a threat to them  as  a result of having  previous convictions for 
violence/cruelty offences against a child  - this concern  is  directed  to the CEO  College  of 
Policing  and  the Chair of the NPCC. 
HO 
3. There is  nothing today,  such  as  form  of Offender Register, to protect children from  an 
individual who  has already  been  convicted  of a cruelty offence against a child  and 
served  their sentence. 
DoHSS 
4.The  need  for a Health Visitor to carry out a full  safeguarding assessment of a father's/co-
parent's potential risks to a child  is currently only 'best practice' and  not mandatory. 

6 

ACTION  SHOULD BE  TAKEN 

In my opinion  action  should  be  taken  to prevent future deaths and  I  believe you 
(and/or your organisation)  have the power to take such  action. 

7 

YOUR RESPONSE 

You  are  under a duty to  respond to this report within  56  days of the date of this 
report, namely by October 30,  2022.  I, the coroner,  may extend the period. 

Your  response  must  contain  details  of action  taken  or  proposed  to  be  taken,  setting  out 
the timetable for action.  Otherwise you  must explain  why no  action  is  proposed. 

8  COPIES and  PUBLICATION 

I  have  sent  a  copy  of  my  report  to  the  Chief  Coroner  and  to  the  following 
Interested Persons 

, Chief Constable of Bedfordshire 

Cambridge Community Services NHS Trust. 

I  am  also  under a  duty to  send  a  copy  of your  response  to  the  Chief Coroner  and 
all  interested  persons who in  my opinion  should  receive  it. 

I  may  also  send  a copy  of your response  to  any  person  who  I  believe  may find  it  useful 
or of interest. 

The  Chief Coroner may publish  either or both  in  a  complete or redacted  or summary  form. 
He  may send  a copy of this report to any person  who  he believes may find  it useful or of 

Regulation 28 -After Inquest 

Document Template Updated 30/07/2021 

 
 interest. 

You  may make  representations to me,  the coroner,  at the time  of your response about 
the release  or the publication  of your response  by the Chief Coroner. 

9 

Dated:  15/09/2022 

,___ ..,(:~ 

Emma WHITTING 
Senior Coroner for 
Bedfordshire and  Luton Coroner Service 

Regulation 28 - After Inquest 

Document Template Updated 30/07/2021

Responses

4 responses published against this report on judiciary.uk. A response is a body's written reply to the coroner's concerns; publication is at the discretion of the Chief Coroner's office, so an absent response does not mean nobody replied.

Response from Department of Health and Social Care (PDF)
From Neil O’Brien MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Primary Care and Public Health
39 Victoria Street
London
SW1H 0EU
Emma Whitting
HM Senior Coroner
Bedfordshire and Luton Coroner’s Service
Coroner’s Office
The Court House
Woburn Street
Ampthill
MK45 2HX 03 March 2023
Dear Ms Whitting,
CORONER REPORT TO PREVENT FUTURE DEATHS: HARPER MARIE DENTON
Thank you for your letter of 15 September 2022 to the Secretary of State for Health and
Social Care, about the death of Harper Denton. I am replying as Minister with
responsibility for Health and Secondary Care and I thank you for the additional time
allowed.
Firstly, I would like to say how deeply saddened I was to read of the circumstances of
Harper’s death. I can appreciate how distressing her death must be for those who knew
and loved her, and I offer my heartfelt condolences. It is vital that we take the learnings
from what happened to Harper to prevent future deaths.
I am aware that the Police, as well as, the Home Office have responded to you directly on
the relevant matters of concern. Therefore, this response focuses solely on your concern
related to safeguarding assessments.
Health visitors and school nurses as leaders of the Healthy Child Programme have a vital
role in keeping children safe. They work with their teams and partners to support local
safeguarding arrangements. We are currently updating a set of resources for health visitor
and school nurse-led services. This includes emphasising the importance for children who
may have additional needs to complete an assessment of family relationships and
chronology of events to identify strengths and vulnerabilities. These are due to be
published shortly.
The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel has highlighted evidence and challenges
to consider in their report on safeguarding children under 1 from non-accidental injury by
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Response from Home Office (PDF)
Direct Communications Unit 
2 Marsham Street 
London 
SW1P 4DF 

Tel: 
www.homeoffice.gov.uk 

Emma Whitting 
HM Senior Coroner 
Bedfordshire and Luton Coroner’s Service 
Coroner’s Office 
The Court House 
Woburn Street 
Ampthill 
MK45 2HX 

2 December  2022 

Dear Mrs Whitting 

Thank you for forwarding a copy of the Regulation 28 report relating to the death of Harper 
Denton. My experience giving evidence in relation to this tragic case left a powerful 
impression and my thoughts remain with Harper’s family. 

The report raised a specific point for the Home Office to consider: 

(3) There is nothing today, such as a form of Offender Register, to protect children from an 
individual who has already been convicted of a cruelty offence against a child and served 
their sentence. 

We are committed to ensuring that the safeguarding system is as robust as it can be. I 
would like to set out some of the actions under active consideration by the Home Office in 
relation to the issues raised. 

Offender Management 

HM Government is continuing to consider options for better management of domestic 
abuse offenders. The Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan, published in April, committed to 
consider the implementation of a domestic abuse ‘register’ to deal with, and effectively 
manage, the most harmful perpetrators of such offences and reduce the risk they pose. It 
is anticipated that there will be overlap between those offenders who commit domestic 

 
 violence and  those convicted of specific child cruelty offences, and other offences of 
violence that may be committed against a child. 

This sits alongside our ongoing work to improve the management of offenders, including 
an independent review to evaluate police management of registered sex offenders in the 
community. The previous Home Secretary appointed former chief constable 
to look specifically at how the police use their current capabilities to manage the risk posed 
by registered sex offenders and whether the regime protecting the public from them could 
be strengthened further. The review concluded in October 2022, delivering 
recommendations to HM Government on what needs to be done across the policing and 
law enforcement landscape to enhance the management of registered sex offenders in the 
community in England and Wales. It is now for Ministers to decide how the findings of the 
review will be shared and consider any response to the recommendations; including 
potential implications for work on the development of offence-based ‘registers’. 

We are also continuing to support disclosure schemes through the provision of national 
guidance. The Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme and the Child Sex Offender 
Disclosure Scheme both provide members of the public with a clear process to seek 
information from the police on individuals who may pose a risk of harm to children. 

The Home Office acknowledges the perception that Violent Offender Orders have been 
sparingly used by the police, and we will be engaging with policing partners to identify 
barriers to their use and options to promote awareness of their utility. 

Child Protection reforms 

You will appreciate that the management of offenders is only one component of the state’s 
responsibility to keep children safe. To be successful, any development of a child cruelty 
register would need to complement wider reforms to improve collaboration and information 
sharing across the key agencies that are responsible for safeguarding children. 

We know information and data sharing between agencies is a challenge, and across 
Government we are actively considering how to improve relevant processes for 
operational partners. The Health and Social Care Act 2022 commits the Government to 
laying a report before Parliament in Summer 2023 setting out its policy on information 
sharing by public authorities for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of 
children; including the feasibility of using a consistent child identifier. 

In May, we welcomed the publication of the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, 
and the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s national review ‘Child Protection in 
England’; while October saw the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual 
Abuse in England and Wales. All three of those reviews make recommendations to 
Government on how to improve multi-agency working to strengthen child protection, and 
taken together provide us with an opportunity to consider how safeguarding can be 
improved in the round. The Government will be responding to the recommendations in 
those reviews in due course, and we will continue to consider the case for a child cruelty 
register in context of all ongoing policy discussions in this space. 

I hope this letter has been helpful in setting out the ways in which these complex policy 
questions will be kept under constant review. 

 
 Yours sincerely, 

Deputy Director, Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Unit 
Public Safety Group 
Home Office 
2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF
Response from Metropolitan Police (PDF)
PROFESSIONALISM HQ 

Ms Emma Whitting  
Senior Coroner 
Bedfordshire & Luton Coroner’s Service 
Central Bedfordshire Council Coroner’s Office 
The Court House 
Woburn Street  
Ampthill                                                                            
Bedfordshire 
MK45 2HX                      

                                                           London    

Deputy Assistant Commissioner 
New Scotland Yard 
Victoria Embankment 

SW1A 2JL 

Our Ref: IX/2241/21 

Date: 17 November 2022 

Dear Ms Whitting, 

Re: Regulation 28 Report to Prevent Future Deaths – Harper Denton 

I  am  the  Deputy  Assistant  Commissioner  for  the  Directorate  of  Professionalism  in  the 
Metropolitan  Police  Service  (MPS).  I  write  to  provide  the  response  on  behalf  of  the 
Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis to the matter of concern addressed to the MPS in 
the Report to Prevent Future Deaths dated 15 September 2022. 

On behalf of the MPS may I first of all express my sincere condolences to Harper’s family. Our 
thoughts and sympathies are very much with them. 

Matter of concern 

The MPS does not appear to have adopted ACPO Guidance on Protecting the Public: 
Managing Sexual Offenders and Violent Offenders 2010 and subsequent APP College 
of Policing MOSOVO Guidance, particularly with respect to PDPs. Because this concern 
maybe relevant to other police forces nationally, this concern is directed to the CEO 
College of Policing and the Chair of the NPCC as well as the Commissioner for the MPS. 

Response 

There is no legislative definition of a Potentially Dangerous Person (PDP).  A PDP is someone 
who is not eligible for management under the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements 
(MAPPA) as they have not been convicted of, or cautioned for, any offence that would thereby 
place  them  into  one  of  the  three  MAPPA  categories.  However,  their  behaviour  gives 
reasonable grounds for believing that there is a risk of them committing an offence or offences 
that will cause serious harm. 

/… 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                        
                                                     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
             
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                               
 
    
                                                                                      
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Page 2/Ms Emma Whitting 

On a number of previous occasions, the MPS has scoped the feasibility of introducing a PDP 
process as outlined in the guidance provided by the NPCC Policing Practice 2017 and College 
of Policing Authorised Professional Practice (APP), which superseded the ACPO Guidance 
on ‘Protecting the Public: Managing Sexual Offences and Violent Offenders 2010’.  

On each of those occasions the MPS has encountered difficulty in two areas;  

1.  Within  London,  even  after  applying  strict  filter  parameters,  the  sheer  number  of 
nominals who would fall within the definition of a PDP would have made such a process 
unworkable. 

2.  The  lack  of  a  legislative  framework  (as  recognised  by  the  APP  guidance)  proved 

problematic particularly with regard to partnership working.  

The  Commissioner  of  the  Metropolis  and  individual  Chief  Constables  have  operational 
independence and so can deviate from the APP guidance if they so choose.  In light of the 
two difficulties mentioned above, the MPS has not adopted a PDP process to date. 

Other than the PDP process, the MPS does have existing mechanisms in place that comply 
with other areas of the College of Policing’s (CoP’s) APP for violent offenders. In particular the 
use of Category 3 MAPPA and Violent Offender Orders (VOO) where appropriate.  

For  a  person to  be  treated  as  a  Category  3  MAPPA,  they  would  need  to  have  an  existing 
caution or conviction for a relevant offence and pose a risk of serious harm to the public.  

MAPPA  provides  a  gateway  for  the  MPS  and  policing  generally,  to  share  information  with 
responsible authorities and other third parties where persons are identified as posing a serious 
risk to the public. The MPS is required to follow the statutory MAPPA guidance which exists 
to try to ensure consistent application of MAPPA, including considerations of disclosure.  

MAPPA  provides  an  information  sharing  protocol  and  a  mechanism  to  provide  disclosure 
based on risk to the public. In all MAPPA Level 2 or Level 3 managed cases, disclosure is a 
mandatory consideration.  

Common  Law  powers  of  disclosure  can  be  used  to  protect  those  at  risk. To  be  lawful,  any 
disclosure  must  comply  with  the  Human  Rights  Act  1998,  Data  Protection  Act  2018,  the 
Rehabilitation  of Offenders  Act  1974,  and  established  case  law.  Such  disclosure  can  be  to 
parents and/or carers of children who may be at risk of harm from a particular person. 

The MPS is committed to ensuring that organisational learning from the events which led to 
Harper’s murder is captured and addressed appropriately.  

The  MPS  is  currently  reviewing  its  existing  MAPPA  processes.  This  review  will  include 
consideration of a new scoping exercise to assess the feasibility of introducing a PDP process 
as  outlined  by  the  College  of  Policing’s  APP  Guidance.   It  is  currently  anticipated  that  the 
outcome  of  this review  will  be  completed  within  six  months  and  will  determine  whether the 
MPS adopts the CoP APP guidance with regard to PDP’s.   

/… 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Page 3/Ms Emma Whitting 

I hope that this response addresses the matter of concern you have raised and that you are 
reassured that the issue is being addressed as part of the ongoing review into MPS MAPPA 
processes.   

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any queries. 

Yours sincerely 

Deputy Assistant Commissioner
Response from National Police Chiefs Council (PDF)
Emma Whitting 
Senior Coroner 
Bedfordshire & Luton Coroner’s Service 
Central Bedfordshire Council 
Coroner’s Office 
The Court House  
Woburn Street 
Ampthill 
Bedfordshire  
MK45 2HX  

4 November 2022 

Dear Ms Whitting, 

Re Preventing Future Deaths Report – Harper Denton 

Thank you for your report, this was a shocking crime and the sympathies and thoughts of both the 
College of Policing and National Police Chiefs Council are with her family.  

This is a joint response written on behalf of both the College of Policing (College) and National Police 
Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).  

You have identified two ‘matters of concern’ for policing to respond to and this response deals with each 
in turn. 

1)  The MPS does not appear to have adopted ACPO Guidance on Protecting the Public: Managing 

Sexual Offenders and Violent Offenders 2010 and subsequent APP College of Policing 
MOSOVO Guidance, particularly with respect to PDPs. Because this concern maybe relevant to 
other police forces nationally, this concern is directed to the CEO College of Policing and the 
Chair of the NPCC as well as the Commissioner for the MPS. 

Response 
The ACPO guidance from 2010 has been superseded by the College’s Authorised Professional 
Practice (APP) on Potentially Dangerous Persons (PDP) which describes the most up to date 
professional practice for police forces in England and Wales.  

In addition, the College has developed risk principles, vulnerability and risk guidelines and, 
principles for the management of potentially dangerous and serial perpetrators domestic abusers. 

 
                                            
 
                                                             
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 These guidelines and principles support forces in their identification, assessment and 
management of PDPs. College Child Abuse APP is explicit about concerns for a child and the 
risk presented by people with a history of violent or sexual offences and makes the links across 
to the Management of Sexual or Violent Offenders (MOSOVO) APP. 

Chief Constable 
 is the National Policing Lead for the Management of Sexual Offenders 
and Violent Offenders, she drives consistency of policing approaches by supporting forces to 
implement guidance and adopt new, promising practice. Additionally, the Vulnerability Knowledge 
and Practice Programme (VKPP) actively engages with forces to assist them to assess their own 
operating processes and offers coordinated peer support when forces ask for assistance. 
However, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner and individual Chief Constables have 
operational independence and so can deviate from APP if they choose. 

2)  There appears to be a lacuna in pro-active information sharing practices by Police 

(similar to those found under Clare's Law and Sarah's Law) in order to protect children from those 
who may present a threat to them as a result of having previous convictions for violence/cruelty 
offences against a child - this concern is directed to the CEO College of Policing and the Chair of 
the NPCC. 

Response 
Where policing becomes aware of a Potentially Dangerous Person, or any person who may pose 
a risk to a partner of their children, there is a well-developed legal framework to share information 
with a person considered to be at risk of harm, such as a new partner or the parent / carer of a 
vulnerable child.   

The primary mechanisms for the disclosure of conviction information and, more importantly, risk 
information to facilitate child safeguarding, are Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements, the 
Child Sexual Offender Disclosure Scheme and the Domestic Violence disclosure scheme. These 
mechanisms provide a statutory and common law approach to enable relevant risk information is 
shared proactively and reactively to ensure safeguarding and public protection 

Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) 

MAPPA provides the legal gateway for police to share information with responsible authorities 
and a duty to cooperate with agencies such as child social care and / or health. This is to ensure 
that individuals identified as posing a serious risk to the public are subject to multi agency 
scrutiny and a risk management plan. A plan would include consideration of disclosure of 
information to third parties if deemed appropriate. Offenders who have convictions for violence 
and cruelty offences against children can be managed within the MAPPA framework. In addition, 
the arrangements are subject to statutory MAPPA guidance which aims to ensures their 
consistent application.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Child Sexual Offences Disclosure Scheme (CSODS) 

Sarah’s law relates to the CSODS and the rights of people who feel that a child may be at risk to 
ask about an individual’s convictions for child sexual offences.   

Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) 

Claire’s law relates to the DVDS which affords a right to ask as well as a right to tell. Home Office 
guidance 2013, provides an explanation of the process to provide increased protection for 
domestic abuse victims. 

MAPPA guidance provides a non-exhaustive list of offences where convictions and/or allegations 
may be disclosed under the DVDS.  Although the list is non-exhaustive and is intended to act as 
a guide to the types of offences that may be disclosed, it specifically includes Child Cruelty under 
Section 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, Section 1 and 2 Child Abduction, under 
the Child Abduction Act 1984, and Causing or Allowing the Death of a Child under Section 5 of 
the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. 

Neither of the disclosure schemes are in statute. However, they formalise processes, based on 
common law powers of disclosure, to ensure a consistent approach is followed when considering 
disclosure of information to individuals when risk is identified to children or of domestic violence.   

Any disclosure must comply with the existing legal framework, in particular the Human Rights Act 
1998, the Data Protection Act 2018, the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, and established 
case law.  Information which may be disclosed includes convictions and out-of-court disposals for 
violent offences and / or information about the person’s behaviour which reasonably leads the 
police and other safeguarding agencies to believe that the person poses a risk of harm to the 
potential victim.   

College APP on child abuse refers to the powers of police to share information, and this includes 
employers and regulatory bodies.  In response to your report the College will, in the next three 
months, update APP to make clear that disclosure can also be made to parents and / or carers of 
children who may be at risk of harm from a particular person.  

APP will be amended to make this common law power clear. An individual with a violence or 
cruelty conviction for children therefore should be subject to necessary operational oversight on a 
case by case basis and any identified risks shared accordingly. 

In conclusion, there are a number of means to share risk related information with statutory and 
non-statutory partners including carers of children, where a suspect is identified as posing a risk 
to children or others. The uses of these mechanisms and identification of individuals is an 
operational responsibility for the chief officer of each force 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I hope that this response addresses your concerns regarding this tragic case. The College and 
National Policing Lead will ensure that the lessons from the murder of Harper Denton are 
disseminated amongst all the police forces of England and Wales. 

Yours sincerely  

          Chief Executive Officer  
          College of Policing 

                 Chair 

     National Police Chiefs’ Council 

Relevant links to College APP and the VKPP website; 

Potentially Dangerous Persons APP 

Child abuse APP 

Management Of Sexual Or Violent Offenders APP 

Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme

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