Re: Youth Protection - Involve Police?

On Sat, 25 Mar 1995, Brian Davis wrote in part:

>
> 2. Bungling by local police - Sorry guy. But the brutal fact is, that
> most reports to police departments are given first to patrolmen - who
> have *no* specialized training in these matters. Consequently, we have a
> patrolman show up in a marked cruiser, thus alerting the entire
> neighborhood to the report, and, as you well know, the patrolman cannot
> enter the domicile of the accused without permission of the owner (and
> are they going to give it? Probably not if they have lots of evidence
> laying around), or a warrant. Judges seldom issue warrants based on
> "suspicians", or even reports of abuse by children. They want some more
> substantial investigation. Way out of your average patrolman's league.
> So, the unwitting report to the local PD often results in undesireable
> responses.
> There are exceptions to this - if you catch an abuser "en
> flagrante delecto" then call the police immediately - your eyewitness
> report is enough to make an arrest on. This doesn't happen vary often
> though. Most of the time, reports surface from either reports by the
> victimized child to parents, or by "gut feeling" charges by adults who
> have seen something that makes them suspicious. In fact, eyewitness's
> are an almost unheard of rarity in these cases, beyond the abuser and his
> victim.
>

One time I suspected abuse (not scouting related on either side) and
called the police. The officer came out and after explaining my
suspicions, he gave me the number of the local child protection agency.
He said that the agency would act much faster to an individuals report
than to an officers report.

>
> All together now, one more time - SE not DE. SE not DE. SE not DE. SE
> not DE.
>

In our council, Scout Executive or his designated representative.

Carl Grabiel
Cubmaster Pack 233
Independence, MO
Heart of America Council

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