Policing child abuse: challenges and opportunities for specialist units

This article has been informed by a recent evaluation of a new national unit that was set up to investigate suspected child abuse in Scotland. This unit was established as part of the transition from eight regional police services in Scotland to a single national police service, Police Scotland. An important part of this evaluation was to consider the messages from previous research into the development of national police units and the role of the police in child protection investigations more generally. Findings What was uncovered were the challenges that police officers face in the current context of child abuse investigations, particularly around construction of child abuse investigations, collaborative working, staff well-being, and training. Practical implications - Police investigations into child abuse experience a range of issues. - Multi-agency and holistic approaches are more effective. - Agencies should be encouraged to establish communities of practice. - Staff need adequate levels of support and training. Originality/value This paper contributes to a growing body of work examining the way in which child abuse investigations are conducted by police and the importance of inter-agency collaboration to support this. It contributes to academic debates and knowledge about the overall investigation process where to date there has been a paucity of literature and research which has tended to focus on evidence and experiences and to a boarder literatur...
Source: Journal of Criminological Research, Policy and Practice - Category: Criminology Source Type: research