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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-06-03 Daily Xml
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CHILD ABUSE LINE

In reply to the Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (28 February 2008).

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning): I refer to the question without notice asked by the Hon Dennis Hood regarding police procedures and powers pursuant to the Children's Protection Act 1993 and delays experience by police reporting matters to the Child Abuse Report Line.

The police officer in question is incorrect to imply that 'under the current powers available to them they could not remove the child from the house'. Section 16 of the Children's Protection Act 1993 allows police to remove children if they believe on reasonable grounds that a child is in a situation of serious danger and that it is necessary to remove the child from that situation in order to protect the child from harm (or further harm), the officer may remove the child from any premises or place, using such force (including breaking into premises) as is reasonably necessary for the purpose.

Police have obligations to contact Families SA following the removal of a child in order to facilitate the appropriate placement and support for that child. A police only priority line has been made available to SAPOL for members to contact the Crisis Response Unit, Families SA. This number is designed for emergency use by police when a matter requires an interagency response, assistance and support. The number is not to be utilised by police officers for mandatory notifications which are made via the Child Abuse Report Line (CARL). There is no indication at present that police are experiencing undue delays when contacting the Crisis Response Unit police priority number.

Police can also remove children who are under guardianship of the minister or 'of whom the Minister has custody' under Section 51 (4) of the Children's Protection Act. In this case only police have the power to remove whereas, where there are no orders in place (Section 16) this applies to both Police and Families SA workers.

In summary, under the provisions of the act, police could have removed the child in question and did not have to wait outside the home leaving the child inside while they called the Child Abuse Report Line.

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