Effective Investigation of Child Homicide and Suspicious Deaths

Crimes against children are some of the most serious and demanding investigations that a police force can be involved with. It is an extremely specialized crime area, with its own legislation, case law, guidance and crucial multi-agency working. This book offers a practical operational guide to managing the investigation of child death, and sets out the protocols and procedures relating to these deaths, from sudden and unexpected deaths in infancy (SUDI) to suspicious cases and homicide.

Following the death of Baby Peter and the subsequent report by Lord Laming in 2009, Effective Investigation of Child Homicide and Suspicious Deaths outlines the revised statutory guidance on inter-agency working. By bringing together the key legislation, guidance, policies and procedures, along with operational options and background information, the author creates an indispensable resource for those tasked with this challenging but essential work. Drawing on his own extensive experiences, he outlines the relevant procedures of inquests and the criminal and family courts, and summarises the specific offences relating to child deaths such as infanticide, familial homicide, procuring an abortion, and child destruction. The role of expert medical evidence is explained, as are the procedures relating to forensic post-mortems and forensic samples and tests, with contributions from key medical professionals framing the complex and technical within a more practical setting. A reminder of the nuances of child death investigations is present in the striking but sensitive inclusion of personal accounts from the families of victims.

Effective Investigation of Child Homicide and Suspicious Deaths forms part of the Blackstone's Practical Policing Series. The series consists of practical guides containing clear and detailed explanations of the relevant legislation, police procedure and practice, accompanied by case studies, illustrative diagrams and useful checklists.

David Marshall QPM, Former Detective Chief Inspector, Metropolitan Police

David Marshall QPM MSc recently retired from the Metropolitan Police with over 30 year's service, including postings on the International and Organised Crime Branch and Paedophile Unit at New Scotland Yard. For the last nine years as DCI he was head of the Specialist Crime Directorates Child Abuse Investigation Command's major investigation team responsible for the investigation of complex abuse, child homicides and suspicious deaths in London. In this position he had experience of over fifty child homicides and suspicious deaths. He regularly lectures on the NPIA Investigating Sudden Childhood Death Programme, is a faculty member on the University of Warwick Advanced Course in the Management of Unexpected Childhood Death and was a UK representative on the Interpol Specialist Group on Crimes against Children. He has contributed to national police guidance, written a number of published articles and presented on numerous conferences and courses in the UK and abroad.

Contributors:

Russell J Wate QPM, a Director of RJW Associates Ltd and former Head of Investigations Directorate for the Cambridgeshire Constabulary, UK

Professor Tony Risdon, Consultant Histopathologist, Department of Paediatric Laboratory Medicine, Great Ormond Street Hospital, UK

Dr. Martin Weber, Consultant in Paediatric Pathology, Department of Histopathology, Great Ormond Street Hospital, UK

Dr. Lizzy Dierckx, Consultant Community Paediatrician and Lead for the Rapid Response Team investigating Sudden Unexpected Child Death, Greater Manchester, UK

Nadine Tilbury, Former Senior Crown Prosecutor and Senior Policy Advisor for the CPS and CPS Policy lead on Safeguarding Children Tony Osborne, NPIA's National Advisor for Suspicious Missing Person Cases

Chloe Hawkins, Adviser for the National Injuries Database Professor Neil Sebire, Professor of Paediatric Pathology, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London