Policy Text
Field Services Page 1 of 5 07/07 (REV 6/10)
Child Abuse, Neglect or Abandonment
The purpose of this Order is to establish a standard procedure for the handling of child
abuse, neglect or abandonment cases.
I. General
The intent and purpose of this or der is to protect children fro m continued abuse.
In any investigation of suspect ed child abuse, the officer shal l consider the needs
of the child victim and do whatev er is necessary to prevent phy sical and
psychological harm.
II. Authority Definitions
A. Section 273a and 11165.3 PC - W illful cruelty or unjustifiab le punishment
of a child. This means a situat ion where any person willfully causes or
permits any child to suffer, inf licts unjustifiable physical pa in or mental
suffering or causes or permits th e health of the child to be pl aced in a
situation where her/h is health is endangered.
B. Section 11165.2 PC - Neglec t. This means the negligent trea tment or the
maltreatment of a child by a per son responsible for the child's welfare
under circumstances indicating harm or threatened harm. This i ncludes
both acts and omissions on the par t of the responsible person.
C. Section 271 and 271a PC - A bandonment. Every person or pare nt of any
child under the age of 14 years , who knowingly and willingly fa ils or
refuses to maintain, nurture o r educate, and who deserts such c hild, is
guilty of abandonment.
III. Punishment of a Child
A. PC 273d Corporal Injury upon a child - Any person who willfu lly inflicts
upon a child any cruel or inhuman corporal punishment or an inj ury
resulting in a traumatic conditi on is guilty of Corporal Injury .
B. A parent or person having cust ody and control over a child h as a right to
punish (discipline) a child, bu t it must not be excessive.
Field Services Page 2 of 5 07/07 (REV 6/10) C. Officers investigating child a buse cases should determine if the
punishment was unreasonable or unnecessary. The following crit eria
should be used:
1. Unreasonable – Was the punish ment beyond normal limits.
2. Unnecessary - The child was t he recipient of the punishment due
solely by the parents or guardian's anger or stress.
IV. Protective Custody
A. Any child under the age of ei ghteen (18) may be placed into protective
custody under lawful circumstances.
1. The decision of officers to pla ce children into protective c ustody
should be based upon the exig ency of the circumstances.
a. Emergency removal of a child is allowed when a child has
suffered serious physical or sex ual harm, or will imminently
suffer serious physica l or sexual harm.
(1) If the conditions of imminent and serious threat to life
or health are lacking, notific ation to Child Protective
Services (CPS) should be made so that CPS can take steps to obtain a court or der placing the child into
protective custody.
B. A medical clearance examinat ion for children under six (6) y ears of age
will be the responsibility of Ch ild Protective Services (CPS) a nd conducted
in accordance with CPS policy. This does not remove the invest igating
officer’s responsibility to seek medical care for a child in ne ed of urgent or
life saving medical care.
1. If the child appears sick or has non-urgent health condition , an
advisement to the responding CPS transportation worker should b e
made.
C. If the child was the subjec t of a Drug Endangered Children ( DEC)
investigation, the child must have an evidentiary exam. Office rs should
contact the on-call detective or supervisor of the Anti Drug an d Child
Abuse Enforcement Team (ADACAET) for advice.
1. If there are any questions in regards to the need of an evid entiary
exam, officers should contact the on-call detective or supervis or of
the Anti Drug and Child Abuse En forcement Team (ADACAET) for
advice.
2. If the child is not going to be placed into protective custo dy but
needs to be examined, officers s hould transport the child to hi s/her
medical provider or nearest emer gency room for treatment of the
Field Services Page 3 of 5 07/07 (REV 6/10) drug exposure.
3. All siblings of the abused child should also be examined by his/her
medical provider or nearest emer gency room for treatment of the
drug exposure .
D. If other children are presen t at the location where the vict im child is or was
placed into protective custody, th e officer must determine on a n “individual
basis” if other children should be placed into protective custo dy. The
officer must articulate in h is / her report his / her reason(s) for placing each
child into protective custody.
E. DO NOT release the child to a fr iend or relative as an alter native to
placing into protective custody.
V. Crime Scene Follow-Up
A. If patrol officers are goi ng to take photographs of the vict im, these
photographs must be tak en with a digital camera (minimum of 4 m ega-
pixels) or a