Victims and Witnesses
Home Office Circular on Police Protection
The Home Office Circular on 'The duties and powers of
the police under the Children Act 1989' (HO Circular
44/03) was revised and re-circulated on the 8th
September 2003. The purpose of the circular is to give
greater clarity to all police officers about when and
how they should use police protection powers under the
Children Act 1989. It replaces Home Office circular 54
of 1991.
The circular has been revised in light of the findings of Lord Laming's Inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbié, which was published in January 2003. Two recommendations were made which referred directly to the use of police protection powers.
Recommendation 96 of the Laming Report stated:
"Police forces must review their systems for taking children into police protection and ensure they comply with the Children Act 1989 and Home Office guidelines. In particular, they must ensure that an independent officer of at least inspector rank acts as the designated officer in all cases."
Recommendation 91 stressed the importance of the child being seen and their circumstances assessed before being taken into police protection.
The main changes to the circular are:
clarification of the separate roles and responsibilities of the investigating officer and designated officer;
importance of an assessment of the child's situation by the designated officer, including a visit to see the child;
clarification that Police Protection powers should only be used in an emergency, whenever possible the decision to remove a child from a parent or carer should be made by a court;
clarification of when and how an Emergency Protection Order should be used;
reinforcement that 72 hours is the maximum time that a child should be kept under Police Protection, not the norm;
importance of communication between police, social services and local authority;
importance of informing the child, parents and/or carers of what is happening and why;
update of 'significant harm' and 'suitable accommodation'.
Police
protection form 
PDF 31Kb
Information leaflets on Police Protection
One of the key reasons for revising the circular was to make clear the importance of informing the child, their parents and carers of what is happening and why, when a child is taken into police protection.
The Home Office, Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) have worked together to produce information leaflets on Police Protection. The booklet contains a series of information leaflets for:
Children aged 7 to 10 years - containing basic information plus a word search and colouring picture on the back, the police officer may need to provide colouring pencils;
Young people aged 11 to 16 years - designed to be 'child friendly' with easy to understand information;
Parents and guardians - explaining what is happening when their child is taken into police protection;
Carers - information for any person who has been identified by the police or social services to temporarily care for a child who is under police protection powers.
All of the leaflets provide more information about police protection and provide generic contact numbers for further information and support. There is a space to fill in the name and contact details of the designated police officer in the case.
These leaflets should be handed out by police officers whenever a child is taken into police protection. The pages have been perforated so that the appropriate leaflet can be given to the relevant person or child involved.
A child under police protection should not be brought back to the police station except in exceptional circumstances, such as a lack of immediately available local authority accommodation, and then only for a short period. The leaflet has been designed for use in any situation where a child is taken into police protection, whether he/she is placed in local authority accommodation, with a carer, or taken to the police station or elsewhere.
The leaflets below can be reproduced by police forces.
Download "Why are the police protecting me" leaflets (Colour)
PDF 535KbDownload "Why are the police protecting me" leaflets (Black & White)
PDF 305KbDownload "Why are the police protecting me" leaflets (Welsh)
PDF 485Kb
Last update: 16/01/04