POLICE forces in England and Wales have been urged to review their handling of child-grooming cases after Surrey Police was criticised for serious failings in the case of 14-year-old Breck Bednar, who was murdered in a “sexual and sadistic” attack by a teenager he met online.

Breck Bednar’s mother Lorin LaFave made an 11-minute call to Surrey Police in December 2013 saying she feared her son was being groomed online by Lewis Daynes – but no action was taken. Her son was murdered at Daynes’ flat in Essex two months later.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPPC) launched an investigation into the killing after it emerged Breck’s mother had called Surrey Police to raise concerns about Daynes.

A log of her call was reviewed by a police supervisor later that day and marked “no further action”, adding: “Nothing to suggest this is grooming”.

In a 27-page report issued on Monday, the IPCC said the police call handler and supervisor would have faced misconduct proceedings if they had not already resigned from the force.

The investigation found the call handler and supervisor lacked knowledge of dealing with grooming concerns and that Breck’s mother was not provided with information about specialist agencies such as the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, which provide a reporting service and advice to parents who suspect someone of grooming their child online.

It also found a Police National Computer check should have been completed but was not. If the check had been made, police would have found a previous allegation of rape against a minor had been made against Daynes, in Essex, in 2011.

The IPPC ordered Surrey Police to provide further training to call-handlers on child grooming and radicalisation.

It has also written to senior police chiefs responsible for children and child sexual exploitation to urge them to review current national guidance on the issue and share best practice on the handling of grooming reports.

IPPC commissioner Jennifer Izekor said: “Parents are increasingly aware child abusers or extremists can use the internet to target potential victims online.

“Where they have concerns, parents must be able to turn to the police, and expect those concerns to be taken seriously. For that to happen, police call handlers need to be properly trained to recognise the danger signs and to give the right support and information.

“Sadly, in the case of Breck and his family, the support they needed was not given.”

Surrey Police said following the conclusion of an internal investigation a number of improvements were made in the contact centre, including implementing a checklist specific to child sexual exploitation and grooming, and conducting a dedicated training day for contact centre staff.

Assistant Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, said: “The death of Breck Bednar has been a tragic incident for all involved and our thoughts remain with his family and friends.

“Following the notification of Breck’s death Surrey Police referred the case to the IPCC and carried out an internal investigation to identify improvements the force could make around how information is handled and shared and implemented these at the earliest opportunity.

“Surrey Police takes all allegations of grooming or child sexual exploitation extremely seriously and encourages anyone who has been affected by such crimes, whether recent or non-recent, to speak with police.”