POLICE have vowed to change the way they run Operation Rose-style inquiries.

But one senior officer has also criticised the courts for taking decisions which lengthened the process and denied some alleged victims the chance to have their say.

Northumbria Police last night defended their decision to conduct a "thorough and professional investigation" to establish the truth of what happened to the children involved.

The long-running inquiry into sexual and physical abuse at North-East children's homes has cost Northumbria Police £5m over a period of three years, the equivalent of investigating five murders.

A number of recommendations for criminal justice, social services and health agencies have now been made, to ensure best practice in any similar investigation in the future.

Throughout the inquiry, Northumbria Police worked closely with the Crown Prosecution Service, local authorities and voluntary agencies.

Following best practice established in other areas, the force decided to manage the inquiry by seeking information from a fixed proportion of residents in each of the homes.

Without revealing the nature of their investigations, the inquiry team wrote to ten per cent of former residents.

They informed them that an inquiry had begun into a home in which they had once lived and asked if they had any information which might help.

One third of the residents replied, either saying they had information or did not want the police to contact them.

The courts subsequently upheld the process, commonly known as trawling, accepting the letters simply sought information and did not make suggestions to recipients.

No complaints of malpractice were received and no allegations of collusion between victims has been upheld.

A number of cases were halted because the judiciary deemed that the length of time taken for the cases to reach court breached Article 6 of the Human Rights Act, which requires a hearing within a reasonable time.

Many delays, however, occurred because of adjournments made at the request of defence lawyers and the courts themselves.

Northumbria Police Assistant Chief Constable John Scott said: "We were disappointed at some of the decisions made by the courts.

"As a consequence, some complainants were denied the chance for their evidence to be heard and they understandably feel let down by the criminal justice system."

All the agencies involved in the inquiry, including the Crown Prosecution Service and the counselling services provided for victims, have since reviewed the processes that were involved in the investigation.

Best practice recommendations for the investigation of future similar cases include:

* Early consultation, via the National Crime Faculty, with officers who have investigated similar allegations elsewhere

* Involvement of Crown Prosecution Service from the outset

* Consider tape recording all victim interviews, not just children

* Appointment of a team of prosecution barristers to handle all cases

* Judicial processes to focus on the speedy resolution of cases

* Development of a national protocol for the recording of unused material

* Social services departments to consider retention of staff discipline records

*Co-ordinated support for victims before, during and after inquiries.