AN INVESTIGATION will be launched into alleged failures by North Yorkshire Police to investigate information given to them about indecent images of children.

It was one of three which referred itself to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), earlier this year, after information was given to police by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP).

The information related to the online purchasing of DVDs and videos containing indecent images of children, and was provided by Toronto Police in July 2012, but was not distributed to UK police forces until November 2013.

Last month, the IPCC wrote to chief constables throughout England and Wales to ask whether they had received information from the National Crime Agency (NCA), under Project Spade, and asking for a review of how the information was handled.

Following the review, North Yorkshire Police and North Wales Police referred themselves to the IPCC, who today announced a full independent investigation would now take place.

Sarah Green, deputy chair of the IPCC, said: "There is rightly considerable public concern about how police forces deal with sexual offences involving children.

"The IPCC takes this issue seriously and proactively contacted all forces and asked them to review their handling of intelligence to determine the scale of any issues. Our investigations will examine carefully how intelligence from CEOP was dealt with by these three forces."

Essex Police referred themselves to the IPCC in September over their handling of information from the NCA, and it was confirmed yesterday an independent investigation will also be carried out into the force.

Last month, an internal review by North Yorkshire Police found more could be done by the force to protect children from sexual exploitation, and a new cyber crime unit would be introduced to help target those who use the internet to prey on children.