Ref. 72643-33 Child Protection Officer DS Tim CornerTHE child protection unit at Swindon police station will receive on average 2,000 calls about child abuse every year and they investigate every single one.

It's an incredibly difficult job and one, which requires highly specialised training.

Det Sgt Tim Corner, who manages the department, said officers could not their emotions get in the way of the important work that had to be done.

"We deal with allegations of abuse or neglect against children under 18 where the suspected offender is part of the child's family, a close friend of the family or somebody who is responsible for that child, such as a teacher or a babysitter," he said.

"Allegations can be referred to us from anybody and we work in close partnership with social service once an allegation has been made."

Once a referral is made to the police they get together with social services and decide on the best way to investigate the allegation.

DS Corner said: "Usually we would start by speaking to the child and asking them very open questions about their family set-up.

"There would be no pressure put on them at all but we would try to establish whether an offence had been committed against them or not.

"If this is established a specially trained officer would interview the child and this would be recorded so that it could later be used as evidence in court."

He admits that it is a job that many police officers would find very tough.

"Some of the things we deal with you think about afterwards because they are not very nice to investigate.

"But because we are involved in actively investigating the allegations, we tend not to dwell on things we cannot let our emotions get in the way of our work."

The department gets involved in investigating everything from sexual abuse and child pornography to runaways and children being left home alone.

"There are a fair few cases of children being left at home alone for the night," said DS Corner.

"The youngest child I dealt with in that situation was just five.

"Mum and dad go out on a Saturday night and just leave the children in the house it's unbelievable.

"Anyone who does that we will prosecute.

"There has been a big increase in people owning child pornography probably because it has become more available on the internet.

"In those situations we will try to identify the children that have been photographed and if there are children living in the house we will check that they are safe."

Although only around five per cent of child abuse cases ever reach court, the child protection unit puts a stop to abuse every day.

Their success depends on a strong partnership with the police and social services.

But, according to DS Corner, the public has a vital role to play too.

"It is very important the people do get in touch with us if they suspect anything isn't quite right,"

"Even if it's just a small suspicion.

"Child protection is everybody's responsibility not just that of the police or social services."

If you think you know someone who is being abused contact Swindon police on 01793 528111.

Diane Milne