Child Protection Investigator: Case Study

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Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office – Child Protection Investigator On September 30, 2015, I spoke via telephone to Child Protection Investigator Felipe Rodriguez who works for the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office is one of only six sheriff’s offices within the State of Florida that investigate cases of abuse and neglect. The State of Florida contracts with the Sheriff’s Office to provide this service within Pinellas County, a role previously held by the Florida Department of Children and Families. CPID investigators investigate claims of abuse and determine if further action is necessary to ensure the safety of the child. CPID investigators are non-sworn civilian employees that conduct side-by-side…show more content…
Emulut is a seasoned professional who has served in the State Attorney’s Office for over twenty-seven (27) years. She also has come to recognize improvements that could be made to strengthen the law enforcement response to such cases. Ms. Emulut advocates for forensic interview and child interview training for all officers. She stated that many officers have a hard time relating to abused children because they have never experienced anything similar. She also believes that continued diversity and multi-cultural training will help officers overcome interviewing stumbling blocks for kids that look and were raised differently than them. As for police leaders, she again would emphasize improved training but believes that most agencies have adequate processes in place to ensure quality investigations are…show more content…
I, like most veteran officers, would say that I knew most of what was to be known about child abuse. While I could have predicted training would be brought up, I was not aware at how urgent and important others feel this issue is. All four interviewees discussed an urgent need for law enforcement training and for agency leadership to be more involved in ensuring the early development of officers in child interview techniques and investigations. While all expressed a need for improvements at the officer level, all were complimentary at law enforcement efforts and at the justice system as a whole with respect to child abuse. All believe the system largely gets it right. The other clear piece of information that came to light is that there are multiple layers of support and services available to both victims and families going through abuse related situations. Every group interviewed expressed an assurance that services were provided and

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