3rd party power to effect an investigation into sex abuse of vulnerable adults

The change would sanction the reputable concerns of a 3rd party with knowledge, evidence or first hand observations of a vulnerable adult having been sexually groomed and abused by a predator so that their concerns are immediately progressed to an urgent and full police investigation of the suspect.

The Government is responsible for setting the law about what constitutes an offence, including offences against vulnerable adults, but deciding whether to investigate suspected offences is a matter for the police, and bringing charges is a matter for the Crown Prosecution Service. We can only accept petitions that request actions that can be taken by the Government or House of Commons.

Police investigations and criminal charges can be launched on the basis of a report by a third party. The College of Policing has published links to the current guidance on investigating allegations involving vulnerable adults, and the ACPO (2012) Guidance on Safeguarding and Investigating the Abuse of Vulnerable Adults notes the complexity of safeguarding vulnerable adults given the need to balance harm prevention with supporting individuals to maintain control over their lives:

Safeguarding vulnerable adults from abuse is a complex area of work. The government policy objective is to prevent and reduce the risk of significant harm to vulnerable adults from abuse or other types of exploitation, while supporting individuals to maintain control over their lives. This includes being able to make choices without coercion.

This does not mean that the police do not investigate cases where the alleged victim either doesn’t accept that they are a victim, or doesn’t support a criminal investigation/prosecution. The police and Crown Prosecution Service have developed policies on “evidence led” investigations and prosecutions that don’t rely on the victim giving evidence.

There was a recent inspection on this approach which you might find of interest: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/publications/evidence-led-domestic-abuse-prosecutions/

You could start a petition calling on the Government to review how reports of 3rd party abuse of vulnerable adults are handled by the police, with a view to ensuring vulnerable adults are adequately protected, as this is something the Government could do.