Police officers suspected of child abuse
Major investigation and public protection — Authorised Professional Practice
Summary
This page outlines the procedures and responsibilities relevant to police officers suspected of child abuse. It emphasizes the role of the child abuse investigation unit in providing advice to professional standards departments when internal investigations arise concerning child abuse or domestic abuse involving children. The importance of a robust notification system is highlighted, where officers must inform their forces about any civil injunctions or orders related to domestic or child abuse. The document also includes the functions of local authority designated officers in children's services, who are responsible for managing cases of possible child abuse by individuals working with children.
Key principles
- 1Police officers must notify their forces regarding any domestic or child abuse-related civil injunctions.
- 2A communication system should be established for reporting such injunctions.
- 3Local authority designated officers coordinate information sharing in child abuse cases.
Defined terms
- Children Act 1989
- An Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that provides a framework for the care and protection of children.
- Prohibited Steps Order
- A legal order that restricts a parent from taking specific actions concerning a child, which may be related to custody or contact.
Full guidance
Responding to public protection and major investigation issues, for example, child abuse, knife crime and sexual offences
This page is from APP, the official source of professional practice for policing.
The child abuse investigation unit should provide advice to police force professional standards departments when an internal investigation relates to allegations of:
child abuse by a police officer; and * domestic abuse which may involve children
Notification
A communications system should exist whereby:
police officers notify their force of any domestic or child abuse-related civil injunctions and/or orders made under the Children Act 1989(opens an external website in the same tab) which deny contact or only permit contact under supervision, or * a Prohibited Steps Order(opens an external website in the same tab) and any breaches of such orders
Local authority designated officers
These officers work in children’s services departments in county or unitary local authorities. They manage and oversee cases of possible child abuse committed by a person who works with children.
coordinate information sharing * provide advice and guidance to employers and voluntary organisations * liaise with the police service
For further information see HM Government (2015) Working Together to Safeguard Children, chapter 2 .
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Read the full APP guidanceSource: College of Policing — Authorised Professional Practice · Crown copyright, licensed under Open Government Licence v3.0. Summary fetched 2026-06-27.