Guidance Twenty Three - Role of the police

The Overall Role of the Police

The role of the Police with relation to Safeguarding Adults is to:

• Investigate criminal activity;
  
• Offer support and advice, making decisions where necessary, on the alleged abuse of a vulnerable adult, where it is unclear if a crime has been committed;
  
• Keep the Safeguarding Manager fully informed of the progress of any criminal investigation that is being managed under the Nottingham(shire) Safeguarding Adults Procedures, at all stages.

The role of the Police DOES NOT include acting in the role of Safeguarding Manager.  The Police will only carry out the ‘criminal investigation’ (See Guidance 10 – Investigations as Part of the Assessment)

The Police will always take report of allegations of crimes. They will prioritise their investigative effort where the crime is of a serious nature or where it has a disproportionate impact upon an individual, or the confidence of the community as a whole.

In the case of vulnerable adults, they will seek to investigate crimes in a manner which is sensitive to the needs of the victim and, to this end, will seek to provide support to victims and witnesses as laid out in Part II of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999. (see Guidance Twenty Six - Achieving Best Evidence in Criminal Proceedings).

In addition, the Police will seek to provide appropriate advice and support in relation to other matters which may not necessarily present themselves as a crime, especially in relation to safeguarding adults or where abuse of a vulnerable adult is suspected. They are committed to working with other agencies to solve problems which affect the quality of life of people in Nottingham(shire), in pursuit of their overall aim of achieving ‘A Safer Nottinghamshire For All’.

Accessing Police Help

In an emergency, the Police should be contacted by using the 999 system. The use of this system should be preserved for those most serious cases where the immediate attention of the Police is necessary. This should include circumstances where it is life threatening, a crime is in progress, an offender is still present or vital evidence will be lost.

In those cases where a response is required as soon as possible, but it is not an emergency, the local Police station control room should be telephoned using the numbers provided in the telephone book. In those cases where advice is required, or it is a historical offence which is being reported, then the local Police station should be contacted by dialling 0115 9670999. The nominated lead officer at each Police station for safeguarding adults, including offences which involve the abuse of vulnerable adults, is the Detective Inspector, who have a supervising responsibility.

When making contact with the Police, remember to indicate your call relates to the Safeguarding Adults procedures and that, in addition to any other action taken, it should be brought to the attention of the Detective Inspector.

The Police Investigation

The overall aim of Nottinghamshire Police is to ensure that we have “A Safer Nottinghamshire for all”   Their priority is to tackle crime effectively, in a way that reflects and caters for the needs of victims and witnesses.

The Police will investigate all crimes reported by or on behalf of vulnerable adults in a sensitive and thorough manner.

The Police Officer initially deployed to the scene will be responsible for the initial investigation, including securing and preserving evidence, witness care, scene assessment and initial lines of enquiry.  This will include requesting forensic examination if appropriate.  See:

• Guidance 24 - Preserving Evidence
  
• and Guidance 25 - Medical Examinations.

Any further investigations will depend upon individual circumstances.  The investigatory resources applied will depend upon the seriousness of the offence and will be at the direction of the Detective Chief Inspector.

Any decisions about arrest will be based on the evidence available and will be made by the officer responsible for the investigation. Decisions about the charging of suspects and initial bail will be made by the custody officer, but subsequent decisions about bail will be at the discretion of the court. The decision to prosecute or otherwise rests with the Crown Prosecution Service based on the evidence provided by the Police.

Early discussion and investigative planning should include an indication of timescales to inform the Safeguarding Manager with regard to the progress of the case.  However, projected timescales in relation to an investigation are sometimes unavoidably extended for a variety of reasons and changing circumstances.  Any changes should be relayed to the Safeguarding Manager at the earliest opportunity, to help ensure a good inter-agency working relationship. 

Once sufficient evidence has been gathered, the case will be presented to the Crown Prosecution Service for a decision as to whether the case will proceed to Court.  In minor cases, the Police can elect to caution an offender without reference to the Crown Prosecution Service. 

In those cases that have insufficient evidence to present to the Crown Prosecution Service, the case will remain recorded as undetected.

Good communication between the investigating agencies is essential and will enable all parties to remain informed.  It is the responsibility of the Police to keep the Safeguarding Manager fully informed of the progress of the criminal investigation.

If there is an allegation that a criminal offence has taken place, the officer responsible for investigating must attend the Safeguarding Assessment Strategy Discussion and Safeguarding Plan Meeting.  In the rare circumstance that they are not able to do this, they must complete Appendix 6 – Safeguarding Plan Information Pro Forma AND report the outcomes from the criminal investigation and any subsequent trials to the Safeguarding Manager.

Vulnerable Adults as Alleged Offenders

Effective liaison between service providers, police, and courts should be maintained in order to ensure satisfactory support to alleged offenders who may be (or have been in the past) identified as vulnerable adults. Quick and appropriate advice for such people should be determined at the earliest possible stage in their contact with the Criminal Justice System and an ‘appropriate adult’ should be considered.

Police Officers will be aware of how and when to refer victims of alleged sexual assault to the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC).

Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA)

If there are concerns about a potentially dangerous person, this should be dealt with in accordance with the Nottinghamshire Public Protection Protocol and each agency’s own risk management procedures. 

National guidance has been issued to clarify the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). It seeks to achieve a consistent approach across the country and to introduce common terminology.

The Nottinghamshire MAPPA Protocol outlines how agencies should work together to manage the risk posed by potentially dangerous persons.  It replaces the previous public protection protocol and takes account of the National MAPPA Guidance, Criminal Justice Act 2003 and Sexual Offences 2003.

Responsible Authority

In 2000 the Criminal Justice & Court Services Act placed a statutory obligation on the probation and police services in each area to establish arrangements for the purpose of assessing and managing the risks posed by certain offenders.  The probation and police services are referred to as the ‘responsible authority’, and have now been joined in this task by the prison service.

Duty to Co-operate

The following agencies have a ‘duty to co-operate’ with the public protection arrangements under s.325(6) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003:

• Youth Offending Teams
• Jobcentre Plus
• Local Education Authorities
• Local Housing Authorities
• Registered Social Landlords
• Local Authority Social Care Departments
• Strategic Health Authorities, Primary Care Trusts and NHS Trusts
• Electronic Monitoring Providers

For many of the above agencies in Nottingham(shire), this ‘duty’ formalises existing links into public protection work.  Some development work is required to fully establish all the necessary links that this legislation requires.

The duty relates to the operational functions of the MAPPA - the risk assessment and management of ‘MAPPA offenders’.  The review and monitoring of how the MAPPA is working is the responsibility of the Strategic Management Board (SMB), which in Nottingham(shire) has a membership representing a wide range of organisations. 

The duty is reciprocal between the duty to co-operate bodies and the responsible authority and the nature of their co-operation has to be set out in a memorandum (the new Nottinghamshire MAPPA Protocol fulfils this function).  Duty to co-operate bodies are required to carry out their existing responsibilities, which relate to MAPPA offenders, collaboratively with the responsible authority and other duty to co-operate agencies.

Practically the co-operation will amount to;

• Providing points of contact for other agencies
• Providing general and specific advice
• Co-ordination
• Information sharing where appropriate

THE MAPPA FRAMEWORK

There are four clear steps within the MAPPA framework:

1. The identification of MAPPA Offenders.
2. The sharing of relevant information between agencies
3. The assessment of the risk of serious harm; and
4. the management of that risk

MAPPA OFFENDERS

There are three categories of ‘MAPPA Offenders’:

Category 1 - Registered Sex Offenders for the period of their registration

Category 2 - Violent & Other Sex Offenders (sentenced to 12 months imprisonment or more), usually for the period they are being supervised by probation.

Category 3 - Other Offenders who have been convicted of an offence which indicates that he/she is capable of causing serious harm to the public and the Responsible Authority reasonably considers that the offender may cause serious harm to the public.

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