4.1.25 Organised and Complex Abuse

RELATED GUIDANCE

ACPO guidance 'Investigating Child Abuse and Safeguarding Children'

Definition

Complex (organised or multiple) Abuse may be defined as abuse involving one or more abuser and a number of related or non-related abused children. The abusers concerned may be acting in concert to abuse children, sometimes acting in isolation or may be using an institutional framework or position of authority to recruit children for abuse. Such abuse occurs both as part of a network of abuse across a family or community and within institutions such as residential settings, in day care and in other provisions such as youth services, sports clubs and voluntary groups. There may also be cases of children being abused via the use of the Internet.

Principles

Each investigation of organised or multiple abuse will be different, according to the characteristics of each situation and the scale and complexity of the investigation. But all will require thorough planning, good inter-agency working and attention to the welfare needs of the child victim or adult survivor involved.

Complex abuse occurs both as part of a network of abuse across a family or community, and within institutions such as residential homes or schools. Such abuse is profoundly traumatic for the children who become involved.

Its investigation is time-consuming and demanding work requiring specialist skills from both police and social work staff. Some investigations become extremely complex because of the number of places and people involved, and the timescale over which abuse is alleged to have occurred. The complexity is heightened where, as in historical cases, the alleged victims are no longer living in the setting where the incidents occurred or where the alleged perpetrators are also no longer linked to the setting or employment role. These will all need to be taken into consideration when working with a child.

The single and most important consideration is the safety and well-being of the child or children. In reconciling the difference between the standard of evidence required for child protection purposes and the standard required for criminal proceedings, emphasis must be given to the protection of the children as the prime consideration.

The investigation and enquiries must also address the racial, religious, cultural, language and gender needs of the child, together with any special needs of the child arising from illness or disability.

The confidentiality of the information relevant to any Section 47 Enquiry (Child Protection Enquiry) and criminal investigation must be strictly maintained by those involved and must not be disclosed to others, including others within the agency, unless absolutely necessary.

Managing Serious Incidents

Cases involving abuse or serious concerns about the welfare of children in institutional settings that serve more than one local area or agency, or fall outside of existing registration, regulatory or inspection arrangements can present serious difficulties in their strategic management and in ensuring that the learning and policy implications are understood and taken forward.

The Department for Education, Department of Health (DH), Healthcare Commission (HC), Ofsted, Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) and Government Offices (GOs) have developed a protocol to help them manage serious incidents which require the involvement of inspectorates or the DfE or DH because of the serious policy issues they raise and/or they cross a number of local authority or health organisation boundaries. The Inspectorates, DfE and DH have the responsibility to initiate use of the protocol to:

Ensure effective co-ordination of agencies work beyond the immediate local child protection enquiry
Facilitate strategic management which is able to pick up and deal with either policy or operational issues that have regional or national significance
Ensure that information is effectively shared between all the agencies with an interest
Ensure that all commissioning agencies, which have placed children in the institutions, exercise their responsibilities to safeguard the children they are responsible for in a timely manner
Clarify the respective roles of local authorities, NHS bodies, inspectorates, regulators and Government Departments.

Organised Abuse: Procedures

When receiving information, which may indicate, organised or multiple abuse, the recipient should immediately refer the matter to the Designated Manager for Children Subject to a Child Protection Plan or, in his/her absence, to the nominated Children’s Social Care Services manager. If there is any suspicion that any managers currently employed by a social care agency are implicated, the matter should be referred to the Chair of the Safeguarding Children Board or in his/her absence, the Vice-Chair.

The Police should be contacted immediately. A Strategy Discussion/Meeting should then be arranged by the Manager of the Safeguarding Children Service to take place as a matter of urgency to assess the need for future action to be taken under this procedure and, in particular, whether a criminal investigation should take place.

The Strategy Discussion/Meeting must take place as a face-to-face meeting and be formally minuted.

The nominated senior staff of the Children’s Social Care Services and the Police should attend the meeting. They will involve senior staff from Health, Education and other agencies as required and, where necessary, ensure coordination across local authority boundaries as well as Police force boundaries.

Where there is evidence requiring action under this procedure, those who have attended the Strategy Discussion/Meeting will become the Strategy Group and will:

Bring together, as appropriate, a trusted and vetted team of people with the necessary training, expertise and objectivity to manage and conduct the criminal investigation and/or child protection enquiries on a day to day basis
A decision should be made and recorded about the need for independence to investigate the allegations.
Agreement must be reached about the terms of reference for the team and their accountability
Agree the timing and parameters of their enquiries and investigation
Ensure that appropriate resources are deployed to the team including access to legal and other specialist advice, resources and information
Ensure members of the team are themselves supported with personal counselling if necessary
Ensure that suitable accommodation and administrative support are available for the team
Ensure that an appropriate venue is available for interviews and the interviews are conducted in accordance with the Joint Protocol – see West Midlands Joint Protocol - Child Protection Enquiries and Related Criminal Investigations.
Ensure that appropriate resources are available to meet the victims’ needs
Liaise as necessary with the Crown Prosecution Service before arranging services for a child in need of counselling or therapeutic help so that the help can be given in a way which is consistent with the conduct of the criminal investigation
Agree a communications strategy including the handling of political and media issues and contact with the Social Services Inspectorate at the Department of Health.
Ensure that records are kept safely and securely and a high level of confidentiality maintained at all times.
Hold regular strategic planning meetings and reviews, properly minuted, to consider progress, including the effectiveness of the joint working, the need for additional resources and next steps
As the investigation proceeds and at its close, evaluate the investigation, identify the lessons learned and assess the need for follow-up services
At the end of the investigation prepare a report for the Safeguarding Children Board

Remember also that the procedures and guidance for investigating allegations of abuse against professionals (see Allegations against Professionals Procedure) is relevant to allegations of organised or multiple abuse within an institution or in any situation where a professional, carer or volunteer may be involved

The guidance, Complex Child Abuse Investigations: Inter-Agency Issues (Home Office and Department of Health, 2002) will assist agencies confronted with difficult investigations by sharing the accumulated learning from serious case reviews.

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