CHESHIRE Chief Constable Peter Fahy warned about the dangers of creating scapegoats and making public policy on the back of individual cases, in the wake of the Bichard Report.

He was speaking to members of the Police Authority about the report by Sir Michael Bichard which made recommendations relevant to the police service as a whole, including improving the flow of information.

The Bichard Inquiry was set up by the Home Secretary to look into child protection procedures in Humberside Police and Cambridge-shire Constabulary following the conviction of Ian Huntley for the murders of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells.

Following the publication of the report and criticism of both forces, the Chief Constable of Cambridgeshire resigned.

However the chief constable of Humberside, David Westwood, has refused to resign despite

Home Secretary David Blunkett's call for his suspension, and the matter is now subject to legal proceedings.

Mr Fahy said: 'We have to remember that stranger attacks on children are rare and it's dangerous to make public policy on the back of individual cases.

'It's dangerous if people are going to be made scapegoats if decisions about information flying around organisations are going to be made on the basis on one case.' He pointed out there was no public inquiry for Johnny Delaney, the 15-year-old kicked to death by two teenagers in Ellesmere Port in May last year.

He told Police Authority members: 'I can reassure you our procedures are more robust than the procedures described in the report for Humberside and Cambridgeshire.

'We do keep material for longer - 10 years initially - than was the case in Humberside. We have a very thorough vetting unit and devote a number of staff to that department.'

But he added: 'If you let people into your home you have to rely on your common sense. You can't rely on vetting - it's a hugely unsophisticated process. Trust your own instincts.

'Check them out, talk to people who know them. It depends on whether you happen to come to our notice, whether we identify you, whether you have changed your name.'

He continued: 'There's no question that Huntley was an extreme risk and should have been identified.

'But even then, if we identify someone who has a repeat pattern of offending, the fact that somebody has two or three unsubstantiated allegations about them does not help us go forward. That's something the Bichard Inquiry does not address.'

Mr Fahy said Cheshire police gets 20 requests a week for vetting.

Mr Fahy will present a report on the Bichard Inquiry and the implications for Cheshire police to the September meeting of the Police Authority.