This chapter presents findings from a number of serious case reviews in the UK as case studies to highlight the need for professionals involved in child protection to work collaboratively with professionals from other disciplines. In line with the aim of Part Four (see Figure 1.1), these cases are used as a lens to understand the multiple dynamics of personal, professional and interprofessional ethics experienced by professionals working in this area, with a focus on the perspectives of police officers, elicited through research conducted by the first author.

A police officer, especially in the field of child protection, domestic abuse and the investigation of serious sexual assaults, can often have a silent inner ethical conflict with regard to the desire to protect the rights of the child and the professional duty to protect the rights of the accused. In child protection incidents and sexual crime, the scales of justice are often seen to be weighted heavily towards the human rights of the suspect/accused, sometimes to the detriment of the victim. There is potential for conflict when the police are working in an increasingly interprofessional context involving social work, law and health services where each profession may have different priorities and professional codes of ethics. This chapter will explore this personal, professional and interprofessional ethical tension to protect the rights of the victim and accused within a legislative context, using the philosophical approach to ethics (see Chapter One).

The legislative framework and tensions between personal and professional ethics in policing

In Scotland the police have a statutory responsibility under the Police (Scotland) Act 1967 (Scottish Office, 1967) and the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (Scottish Office, 1995a) to protect children, prevent crime and detect offenders. The criminal justice systems of most countries around the world are permeated by the notion of balance, as symbolised by the ‘Scales of Justice’. Kamlasabayson (2003), Sri Lankan Attorney General, asserts that on the one hand the system is meant to ensure that an innocent suspect is not unfairly prosecuted or convicted; and on the other hand the interests of the victim are protected, and taken cognisance of, in having the perpetrator prosecuted and punished. To this end, police forces around the globe are tasked with carrying out the defined policing functions delineated in their country's legislation; in principle, to detect offenders and bring them swiftly to justice.