Understanding the outcome of police safeguarding notifications to social services in South Wales
| Author | Zoe Meredith,Jessica Evans,Annemarie Newbury,Karen Hughes,Mark A Bellis,Janine Roderick,Alisha R Davies,Kat Ford |
| Published date | 01 June 2020 |
| Date | 01 June 2020 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X19836144 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Understanding the
outcome of police
safeguarding notifications
to social services
in South Wales
Kat Ford
Public Health Collaborating Unit, BIHMR, College of Human Sciences,
Bangor University, Wrexham, UK
Annemarie Newbury and Zoe Meredith
Policy, Research and International Development Directorate, Public
Health Wales, Cardiff, UK
Jessica Evans
Office for National Statistics, Newport, UK
Karen Hughes
Policy, Research and International Development Directorate, Public
Health Wales, Wrexham, UK
Janine Roderick and Alisha R Davies
Policy, Research and International Development Directorate, Public
Health Wales, Cardiff, UK
Mark A Bellis
Policy, Research and International Development Directorate, Public
Health Wales, Wrexham, UK
Corresponding author:
Kat Ford, Bangor University, Wrexham Technology Park, Wrexham, LL13 7YP, UK.
Email: k.ford@bangor.ac.uk
The Police Journal:
Theory, Practice and Principles
2020, Vol. 93(2) 87–108
ªThe Author(s) 2019
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/0032258X19836144
journals.sagepub.com/home/pjx
Abstract
In the UK, demand for the police has changed, with the majority of calls now
vulnerability-related. Police safeguarding notifications (N¼3,466) over a one-year period
for a local authority in Wales were matched to social care records. Over half (57.5%) of
notifications were referred to social services and only 4.8% received social service input
(e.g. social worker intervention). Over a third of individuals had repeat notifications in
the study year. Findings evidence high levels of police-identified vulnerability and an
imbalance in vulnerability-related risk thresholds across agencies. Furthermore, some
individuals require more appropriate action to mitigate the risk of future safeguarding
notifications.
Keywords
Safeguarding, vulnerability, policing, prevention
Introduction
Following international trends, crime rates in the United Kingdom (UK) have been in
decline since the 1990s (Tseloni et al., 2010). Incidents classified as non-crime, includ-
ing vulnerability, public protection and safeguarding, now account for the majority
(84%) of calls to the police in the UK (College of Policing, 2015a). This marks, in some
respects, a change in the focus of policing from a traditional, crime-orientated reactive
approach towards a community focus on prevention, in particular a focus on vulner-
ability (Bartkowiak-The´ron and Asquith, 2012a, 2017; Murray, 2002; O’Neill, 2010).
The police are duty-bound to both prevent crime and protect individuals and commu-
nities (HMIC, 2015a). With vulnerability thought to be intrinsic in all police encounters
(Bartkowiak-The´ron and Asq uith, 2014, 2017; Paterson and Best, 2016 ), vulnerable
individuals are particularly in need of protection and support from the police and appro-
priate partnership agencies (for example, health and statutory organisations such as
social services). Definitions of vulnerability vary internationally in context and content
(Bartkowiak-The´ron and Asquith, 2012a, 2012b). In the UK, vulnerability is typically
defined by police services using the Ministry of Justice Code of Practice for Victims of
Crime definition, which outlines a victim as vulnerable if they are under the age of 18
years or have a mental or physical disability, disorder or significant impairment (Min-
istry of Justice, 2015). Given the increasing demand placed on police resources by
vulnerability issues (Boulton et al., 2017), it is important that the police response is
adequate and that a multi-agency response results in those in need receiving the support
they require. Globally, police are under scrutiny from the public and other governing
bodies in their engagements with, and response to, vulnerable individuals (Bartkowiak-
The´ron and Asquith, 2012a). UK police services are routinely and independently mon-
itored on their protection of vulnerable people and victims of crime by Her Majesty’s
Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC). A 2015 inspection highlighted that through an
inconsistent response, the majority of services in England and Wales were not meeting
the needs of the vulnerable, and that police staff needed training to deepen their
88 The Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles 93(2)
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