HUNDREDS more people are now reporting their fears about children being abused or neglected since the Baby Peter case.

Calls to the police have gone up by 44 per cent to 1,930 between April 2008 and March 21 this year, which officers are putting down to the high-profile Baby Peter abuse case in London.

It has also emerged that officers investigated 530 allegations, identified 229 cases of child abuse and secured 92 convictions in the past 12 months.

A police spokesman said there had been an increase in offences, but explained there were no comparable figures for convictions for child abuse cases for previous years.

Det Sgt Steve Birchall, of the child abuse investigation unit, said people now felt more able to report allegations.

He added: “There is no more child abuse than before, but there is greater confidence in the ability to report cases.

“The Baby P case did have an effect.

“The press coverage of the case encouraged more people to make referrals.

“Police have a great working relationship with social services, hospitals, schools, local education authorities, councils and all sorts of people who are able and know how to make referrals.

“Crimes have gone up a little, but if you get more referrals, it is likely you will get more crimes.

“We don’t get a great number of neglect and cruelty cases.

“Usually, these are picked up earlier and dealt with by social services rather than the criminal system.

“If children are injured, then that concerns us.

“We don’t turn a blind eye if people are abusing or neglecting a child, but sometimes people need advice with family life and social services are often best placed to do that.”

Police mainly deal with sexual abuse cases while less serious forms of neglect and cruelty are left with social services.

Social services, hospitals, local education authorities, schools, police officers and members of the public are all able to refer cases to the child abuse investigation units based at Cowley in Oxford, and Banbury.

A spokesman for Oxfordshire County Council said: “We have had an increase in referrals of approximately 25 per cent since last autumn, which we put down to the public’s reaction to the Baby P case.

“Oxfordshire has introduced new social worker posts year-on-year, with four introduced this year and four more planned for next.

“Social workers in Oxfordshire work hard to ensure that every referral about a vulnerable child is investigated and assessed in a prompt and timely way.”

John Cameron, head of NSPCC Child Protection Helpline, said that 65 per cent of calls are from the public, such as neighbours.

He said: “People’s more positive experiences of social services and the police should see a greater willingness to share information and seek advice.

“People have more of a developed sense of social responsibility and greater confidence in being the eyes and ears for a child who cannot speak out.

“Although this is encouraging, research indicates that there are many more abused children whose suffering never comes to light, so the public must remain vigilant.”