SA Police allocates two officers to oversee checks on 500 ‘high-risk’ children

Two days ago the Premier announced police would check on 500 children at “high risk” of neglect. Now our top cop says officers will only be brought in as a “last resort”.

Premier Peter Malinauskas and Child Protection Minister Katrine Hildyard arrive at the press conference on Wednesday to announce the report. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens has revealed it should be a “last resort” to send police officers to the homes of 500 children flagged in a top-level report as living in “high-risk” situations.

On Wednesday, Premier Peter Malinauskas said police officers would be drafted in to urgently check on the children identified in a report by former police commissioner Mal Hyde.

The children were already known to the Child Protection Department but Mr Hyde’s report found swifter action was needed to ensure their safety.

On Thursday, Child Protection Minister Katrine Hildyard could not say exactly how the operation would work or when it would be complete, but that police would work “hand-in-hand” with child protection staff.

By Friday morning Mr Stevens told FIVEaa Radio that officers “should be used as a last resort”.

“It still remains the responsibility of child protection services even in those situations where there’s serious concerns about the welfare of a child,” he said.

“Police officers should be used as a last resort. We should be responding when there’s a concern about an imminent risk of harm.

“We’re always available to assist child protection services staff if they have concerns about their own safety when they’re attending a particular house, but these are ongoing, regular visits to families that are undertaken by child protection services and that’s the way it should be.”

SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said two officers have already been allocated to oversee the co-ordination of the checks on 500 children living in “high-risk” situations. Picture: Emma Brasier

Mr Stevens said two senior officers have been allocated, for an initial period of three months, to co-ordinate the efforts of multiple government agencies to prioritise which of the 500 children are most at-risk and will be visited first.

Earlier on Friday morning he told ABC Radio Adelaide: “The Premier requested that we allocate a senior police manager … at this point in time we have a superintendent who is being supported by an inspector”.

“We’ll be working through the weekend to start the process of how we’re going to approach this task and the time frame that’s going to be required to get it done,” he said.

Mr Hyde said the 500 children were identified through analysing data on children aged under 10, who were the subject of more than 15 reports to authorities and where red flags had been raised in the past six months.

However, he would not say exactly what factors were putting the children at risk – such as drug or alcohol abuse by parents, domestic violence, poverty or squalor.

Earlier this week

Late on Thursday, Ms Hildyard said she had met with Deputy Commissioner of Police Linda Williams and others “as we begin executing our response”.

“SAPOL and DCP (Child Protection Department) are working closely, with today’s meeting urgently progressing this effort,” she said.

Ms Hildyard was questioned about the detail of the operation to check on the children on ABC Radio Adelaide on Thursday morning.

She said police officers would work “hand-in-hand” with child protection staff “physically going to homes” to “actually sight children”.

She could not say when the operation would be complete though, only that it would happen “within days and weeks”.

“Many of those 500 children will already be known to the department, to a community organisation,” she said.

“It is an extra rapid check to identify the factors that are causing these particular high-risk situations.”

Ms Hildyard could not say whether a police officer would attend the home of all 500 children, or only in some cases.

Asked what would happen if a police officer and child protection worker disagreed on what should happen in a certain case, Ms Hildyard said “the child’s interests always come first in terms of their decision-making”.

“Each family will have a different response that is required,” she said.

Ms Hildyard said SA Police was overseeing the operation.

Former Police Commissioner Mal Hyde, centre releases parts of reports into the state’s child protection system, flanked by Premier Peter Malinauskas and Child Protection Minister Katrine Hildyard. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

South Australian Parole Board Chair Frances Nelson QC described the plan to conduct welfare checks as “another bandaid to a big problem”.

Also speaking on ABC Radio Adelaide on Thursday Ms Nelson said: “We know what the problem is, we can identify the problem and we don’t need more people trying to identify the problem. We need more ways of fixing the problems.

“It’s a generational problem … it’s a community problem and we need to be putting pressure on politicians to address it.

“I’m not sure it’s going to be addressed by police officers being taken off the street … it’s going to be fixed by someone doing something practical to solve the problem. We need solutions.”

The revelation that 500 children are living in “high-risk” situations has sparked calls to replace Child Protection Department chief executive officer Cathy Taylor, who has been in the job for six years.

“She’s got to go. Why have they kept her in that position?” said Janet Wells, whose grandchildren were killed in 2016 after multiple reports about their welfare were made to the department.

Mr Malinauskas is resisting calls to sack Ms Taylor, but said the department culture was “something that will be assessed very carefully”.

He also stressed it was “important to contemplate” the findings of a second report released on Wednesday, which examined responses to past inquiries into the state’s child protection system. That review, by NSW expert Kate Alexander, is very supportive of the department’s current leadership team.

Ms Taylor did not respond directly to questions from The Advertiser about why she should remain in her role, but said planning was “underway” to implement reform recommendations.

Mr Malinauskas appointed Mr Hyde to conduct his review at the start of August, following revelations of the deaths of two children – Charlie Nowland, 6, and Makai Wanganeen, 7 – who were known to authorities.