A family affair?

A small group of officers, who currently operate from cramped offices above a police garage in Accrington, are called in to deal with the difficult and delicate investigations.

The Family Protection Unit was set up just over 18 months ago and handles all cases of domestic violence and abuse against youngsters in East Lancashire.

The 11-strong team covers an area which stretches from Nelson and Colne across to the west of Blackburn. All the officers working on the unit have undergone specialist training and work closely with social workers.

Their job involves talking to traumatised youngsters who have often been sexually abused by a trusted member or friend of their family.

Detective Inspector Phil McEntee recently took charge of the Family Protection Unit.

He said: "When I joined the group I thought I had a pretty realistic grasp of the scale of the problem but there is much more of it going on than I ever imagined.

"We can only speculate about the size of the problem but all I can say is my officers are constantly dealing with cases involving serious offences ranging from indecent assault to rape and other serious sexual offences.

"The problem seems as though it has got bigger but I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that people are more open about things these days. In the past abuse was a taboo subject and used to get swept under the carpet."

Before a case comes to the court the police have to go through a long, delicate process.

They also attend case conferences with social workers to decide whether the children are at risk and should be put on the county council's register.

The youngsters are taken to special units which are designed to make them feel comfortable and are equipped with video cameras.

Each interview is carefully planned and the officers do the best to find out as much as possible about the young victims' hobbies and interests so they can find a common ground before moving on to sensitive areas.

Burnley Crown Court has recently been fitting video monitors so the taped interviews can be replayed at trials.

Before a case comes before a judge the children are taken to the courts to familiarise them with the often imposing buildings.

The unit has 12 filing cabinets crammed with details of cases it has dealt with since it was formed in 1994 and a move to bigger offices at Clitheroe is planned for this Summer.

No one knows why but the East Lancashire office has many more referrals than its counterparts in rest of the county.

In some cases women who were sexually abused as children have reported the crime 30 or 40 years later but the police will still prosecute if they can get a conviction.

New cases are constantly being referred from a whole range of sources, including social services, schools, nurseries, anonymous calls and worried relatives.

An investigation into East Lancashire's first-known case of paedophile material being peddled on the computer Internet is just one of the ongoing inquiries.

Detective Sergeant Brian Davies has been working with the Family Protection Unit for over two years.

He said: "I have been a policeman for 24 years and I have seen just about everything there is to see, from rapes to murders and robberies. There is not much that could shock me now.

"You have to approach a job like this with an open mind. If you didn't approach each case in an objective way you would not be doing your job properly.

"The types of offences we deal with tend to make most people squirm, particularly outside the police force, but you can get a great deal of satisfaction from doing a good job."

The majority of the men and women on the unit have children of their own but deny their work intrudes into their home lives.

Detective Inspector McEntee said: "Most of the methods we use are standard police procedure but not everyone is suited to the job. We often have to talk to vulnerable youngsters who have been through a traumatic experience but the job can still be very rewarding.

"At the end of the day we are in the business of protecting children from danger and that is the most important aspect of our work."

Both police officers refuse to generalise about what drives people to sexually assault children.

Dt Sgt Davies said: "We get all types of people, from uncles to fathers and grandfathers, from all backgrounds and ages. We have dealt with 80-year-olds and with 10-year-olds.

"If you want to know what makes a person become a paedophile you would have to ask a psychologist.

"Paedophilia is something you can't generalise about. There are so many different types of paedophile behaviour and traits which the general public usually lump together.

"All I do know is that the same patterns often emerge. These people usually have very low self-esteem and are unable to form proper relationships. More times than not it is a case of gaining power to increase self-esteem."

Detectives at the unit stress they are always ready to listen to anyone who might know of a child at risk.

All calls will be treated confidentially and the unit can be contacted on 01254 382141.

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