SUMMARY. In this issue of Children & Society, there are two articles on the joint Social Work Department and Central Scotland Police initiative, begun in 1989, for joint investigations of child abuse referrals. The second paper is an evaluation of the scheme.
This first paper gives a brief description of the operation of joint investigations involving police and social workers with a discussion on strengths and weaknesses of the joint approach. The author goes on to focus on some of the difficulties which emerge in child protection systems which are characterised by adherence to procedural guidelines and which are further characterised by the strong influence of centralised management. Such a view may have applicability to other parts of Scotland and the U.K. and may be recognisable, too, to professionals further a field. This article is based on a presentation to the 8th International Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect, Hamburg, 1990.
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