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| Child Protection in Tayside | |||||||||||
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Children are vulnerable and whilst most are brought up in loving and supportive families there are a minority who are exposed to danger posed by adults, other children and themselves. Every Police Officer has a responsibility to identify these vulnerable children, to intervene early to protect them from danger, to share their concerns with others and to work with partner agencies and communities to find long-term solutions. Once a vulnerable child is identified in Tayside, responsibility for partnership working, detailed investigation and identifying long-term solutions passes to specially trained Divisional Officers in the Public Protection Units. They have experience and are trained in interviewing children and preparing complex cases for court. However an equally important part of their role is to participate in Child Protection Case Conferences with Social Work, Health, Education and other partners and contribute to decisions made on the measures necessary to protect specific children. Public Protection Units In 2008 Tayside Police established Public Protection Units both, at a policy level, in Headquarters and at an operational level in the three territorial Divisions :
Headquarters In Headquarters responsibility for Child Protection Policy rests with the Detective Superintendent, Public Protection and Justice whose job it is to provide a policy framework within which all Police Officers must operate to protect children. Much of this is driven nationally and it is important that Tayside Police is represented on national groups and committees so that the Force response to this complex area is flexible and informed. Divisions Child Protection is part of the Community Planning arrangements that are the responsibility of Local Authorities and their partner agencies. Each Local Authority has a Strategic Child Protection Partnership on which the Police is represented by the local Divisional Commander. At the next level each area has a Child Protection Committee which reports to the Strategic Child Protection Partnership. The Committee is responsible for ensuring that Child Protection Services are effective and consistent across the partner agencies. Tayside Police is represented on the Child Protection Committee by the local Detective Chief Inspector. Each committee must produce an Annual Report and an annual Business Plan. These can be found on-line at :
If you want further information on Child Protection Services in Tayside please either visit :
Dundee Child Protection Line If you live in Dundee and have concerns about a child, contact the Dundee Child Protection Line on 01382 307999. If you believe a child is in IMMEDIATE danger, contact 999. |
