This week is Child Protection Week, an initiative supported by (ANZPAA) the Australian New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency.
The week aims to highlight the fact that it is everyone's responsibility to make their children and community safe.
Child abuse is any action, behaviour or inaction by an adult towards a child that harms or endangers the child's physical, psychological or emotional health, development or well-being.
Acting Assistant Commissioner, Win Van Der Velde says there is no excuse for beating, abusing, or neglecting children.
"No child's life should begin this way. When it does - the harm is substantial and long-lasting", Mr Van Der Velde.
Police manage between 5000-6000 cases of child abuse every year.
"We are committed to holding offenders to account for crimes against children and to working with other agencies to protect children."
Protecting children is the key purpose of an updated protocol signed earlier this year by Police and Child, Youth and Family.
The Child Protection Protocol (CPP) clearly defines the roles of each organisation and sets out the process for working together when responding to serious child abuse.
"Updating the protocol was important, not only to capture advances in working practices but to ensure we provide a timely and coordinated response to young victims," Mr Van Der Velde said.
Police are also involved in the development of multi-agency centres where children who are thought to have experienced abuse or neglect are assessed and treated in an anonymous environment that is not a police station.
"Child, Youth and Family, Police, medical and other specialist staff work together as part of a multi-agency team to streamline the work that needs to be done and to minimise the trauma as far as possible for the victims."
Online Abuse
A specialist Online Child Exploitation Agency (OCEANZ) coordinates international operations into online paedophile networks working to identify and rescue victims of abuse. It also targets those who produce images of abuse for financial gain.
NZ Police have recently joined the Virtual Global Taskforce, which is made up of law enforcement agencies from around the world, working together to fight child abuse online.
Family Violence
Reducing violence within families and whanau is a priority for Police. Last year police attended 91,000 family violence related occurrences and offences.
Children are present at about half of all family violence occurrences. In 2009 approximately 70 percent of reported child abuse was also family violence.
Since July Police have had the ability to issue Police Safety Orders (PSOs). These require any person who represents a threat to leave the premises for up to five days. PSOs also protect the person at risk and any children in the home by putting in place standard conditions that mirror those in Protection Orders, for the duration of the PSO.
Police issued 290 PSOs in the month of July.
"This is a significant tool for Police to use to protect and support families experiencing violence in their home," Mr Van Der Velde said.
"We know that family violence is the cradle for future offending in New Zealand. We need to work together to reduce violence in the home."
"If you know of a child who you suspect is being abused or mistreated, please do something about it."
"You can contact your local Police, or the Child Youth and Family notification line 0508 FAMILY (0508 326 459) or you can call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111."
Police will be profiling some of the above initiatives in more detail throughout the week on our website.
Click the following link to see the Commissioner of Police, Howard Broad talk about Child Protection Week. https://www.police.govt.nz/news/featured/police-commissioner-child-prote...
ENDS
Jane Archibald
Ph 027 568 0267