7.1 Understanding organised and complex abuse
When we speak of the 'organised abuse' of children we are referring to those situations in which there may be a number of abusers and a number of children involved. We also use the term to refer to the abuse of children over long periods of time, and in relation to those who are particularly vulnerable such as those living away from home, possibly in institutional settings, and children who may have been caught up in pornography, prostitution or child trafficking. Such cases are different from the 'typical' familial abuse as they can be very complex and will require a different form of response from the WSCB partner agencies.
7.2 Planning the strategy
Any concerns relating to abuse, regardless of their source, which suggest:
- multiple abusers, children or locations;
- an element of organisation by the alledged abusers; and / or
- elements which are clearly more likely to be complex in nature such as those described above
should immediately trigger a strategy meeting / discussion between a senior Children's Services Manager and their equivalent within the GMP Service. No action should be taken by any member of staff, of any partner agency, prior to this meeting being held.
The meeting / discussion should take place the same day as the allegation is brought to their attention and it should:
- analyse the known information;
- indentify what else needs to be known at this stage and where and how it might be found;
- decide whether this potentially is a case of organised or complex abuse;
- if so, develop an outline plan for the investigation and identify resource implications; and
- consider any immediate protective actions required.
If they believe the allegation may be confirmed, the results of this strategy meeting / discussion should be brought to the attention of the Director of Children and Young People's Services (and the Chair of WSCB if not the same person) who will convene an inter-agency Strategic Management Group in accordance with the government guidance 'Complex Child Abuse Investigations: Inter-Agency Issues.'
7.3 Investigation process
7.3.1 Membership
Once a decision has been reached to initiate an investigation into the allegations, "the Strategic Management Group should identify those people from within and outside their organisations who have required expertise for dealing with a complex abuse investigation."
7.3.2 Management
The Senior Investigating Officer or his/her deputy will establish and chair an Investigation Management Group which will include representatives from Children's Services, Education, Health and Wigan Council Legal Services. Other agencies may be invited to join as appropriate.
The function of the Investigation Management Group will be to:
- provide a forum where professionals can meet, exchance information and advise tactics
- ensure a consistent strategy for interviewing victims
- keep the Strategic Management Group informed of any resource shortages
- ensure a consistent and appropriate inter-agency approach to practical and emotional support for victims and their families
- co-ordinate inter-agency response to families and provide consistent information
- ensure all staff working on the investigation are given support
- ensure that issues which need to be shared by other agencies not represented are communicated to those agencies and addressed
- ensure that all staff are involved in the investigation are clear about the parameters of shared information, data protection and confidentiality
- ensure that relevant intelligence has passed between agencies and to the Police Major Incident Room
