An increasing media and public attention surrounding cases of child abuse start to take place. Amongst the areas of concern is the way in which such victims are dealt with by the criminal justice system. Efforts to address this issue have led to developments such as the joint investigation of child abuse by police officers and social workers, as well as the videotaping of investigative interviews with children.
This report examines the training provision in 12 forces and outlines the diversity of courses that exist within this area of policing. It also explores officers’ thoughts on the strengths and weaknesses of training, the construction of a national curriculum for training courses, and the introduction of accreditation aimed at securing and maintaining standards in interviewing children.