Introduction
In response to requests from law enforcement jurisdictions across the United States for guidelines on investigating child abuse and neglect, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has developed the Portable Guides to Investigating Child Abuse series. There are currently 13 guides in the series, each addressing a specific aspect of investigating a suspected case of child abuse or neglect:
- Recognizing When a Child's Injury or Illness Is Caused by Abuse
- Photodocumentation in the Investigation of Child Abuse
- Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Child Sexual Abuse
- Diagnostic Imaging of Child Abuse
- Battered Child Syndrome: Investigating Physical Abuse and Homicide
- Interviewing Child Witnesses and Victims of Sexual Abuse
- Child Neglect and Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy
- Burn Injuries in Child Abuse
- Law Enforcement Response to Child Abuse
- Criminal Investigation of Child Sexual Abuse
- Understanding and Investigating Child Sexual Exploitation
- Forming a Multidisciplinary Team To Investigate Child Abuse
- Use of Computers in the Sexual Exploitation of Children
These guides are not intended to be comprehensive, nor are they meant to take the place of training seminars (although they can be a valuable adjunct to formal investigative training). Rather, the purpose of the series is to provide practical guidance in a user-friendly format for on-the-job reference. As the name of the series suggests, the guiding principle in its development has been to create publications that would be both substantive and handy to consult.
Investigators with little experience in investigating child abuse and neglect will find reliable direction in the Portable Guides, and experienced investigators will find helpful reminders and succinct review. However, these guides are not intended solely for police officers and detectives. Social workers, physicians, nurses, emergency medical technicians, firefighters, psychologists, attorneys, judges—anyone on the frontlines of reporting, investigating, and prosecuting crimes against children—will find them useful as well.
Written by recognized experts in each subject area, the Portable Guides present fundamental information in straightforward, uncomplicated language using bulleted lists, tables, charts, checklists, and sample forms. Measuring 5 by 9 inches, the Portable Guides are compact enough to be stored easily in the glove compartment of a police cruiser. At 16 to 24 pages in length, they are concise enough for quick reference.
For those who desire additional information, each guide also includes a list of supplemental readings and contact information for organizations that offer training in investigation or resources related to the topic. The inside back cover of each guide carries a list of the principal reference and training organizations in the field of child abuse and neglect, with telephone and fax numbers.
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