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WRITTEN QUESTION TO H.M. ATTORNEY GENERAL
BY DEPUTY T.M. PITMAN OF ST. HELIER ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 20th NOVEMBER 2012
Question
In the light of the revelations around the late entertainer Jimmy Savile and notwithstanding the fact that education and social institutions in Jersey now have in place policy guidelines explaining what employees' responsibilities in reporting suspected child abuse to the police authorities are, will the Attorney General outline whether actual legislation is in place to require employees or other members of the public to report allegations of abuse to the police and, in addition, what potential offences, if any, may be committed should people fail to do so?
Answer
There is no legal obligation on an employee in an educational or other institution to report suspected child abuse to the police. It follows that no criminal offence is committed in the event that someone does not report their suspicions.
As the questions acknowledges, employers place responsibilities on their employees and have established guidelines and best practice in terms of reporting suspected criminal conduct.
The Health and Social Services Minister has a statutory duty pursuant to the Children (Jersey) Law 2002 to investigate any reported concerns that might give reasonable cause to suspect that a child is suffering or is likely to suffer significant harm.