Major investigation and public protection
Investigation — Authorised Professional Practice
Summary
This section of the College of Policing's Authorised Professional Practice (APP) addresses the response to issues of public protection and major investigations, including themes such as child abuse, knife crime, and sexual offences. It provides guidance for police officers on managing sexual and violent offenders, safeguarding adults and children, and investigating complex crimes. The section emphasizes the importance of multi-agency cooperation and the necessity of a clear response framework to tackle various forms of crime, enhancing public safety and ensuring justice for victims.
Key principles
- 1Focus on safeguarding individuals at risk.
- 2Implement multi-agency approaches to protection.
- 3Use effective risk assessment and management strategies.
- 4Maintain clear communication and information sharing among agencies.
- 5Support victims and witnesses throughout investigations.
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.
Modules of APP are currently under review to update references to the latest Code of Practice for Victims of Crime(opens an external website in the same tab) .
Vulnerability to radicalisation (V2R) (content in development)
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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.