When police say they are 'concerned' for mothers who abandon babies do they want to prosecute them?

[thebings]

Not exactly an AIBU but wasn't sure where to put this...

I just saw a news article about a baby being abandoned in London on Thursday night, poor thing. I'm glad she was found!

One of the quotes from the article is that police are becoming increasingly concerned for the mother.

There are always quotes from police along these lines when this sort of thing happens, and I suppose my question is, do you think are they concerned for her health due to her possibly needing medical care having just given birth?

Or are they mainly saying that to try and get her to come forward without being afraid of prosecution (and would the mother be prosecuted in this kind of situation)?

I'm just curious really!

Having come across a couple of cases like this (I dealt with the mother's many years later and one was left in a public building and one was left somewhere they would be found easily) the mother's explained they were treated with kindness and it was genuine concern for their safety

Neither were charged but of course social services involvement which in fairness is right and proper....at the very least a mother who makes that choice for whatever reason does need ss support

Without being too outing believe me the scenarios I can across were very much people who didn't like the police so if they had been unpleasant about it and charged they absolutely would have said

Despite people's views the police are generally trying to protect people and get the best outcome in the main

I deal with them a lot and see the good bad and ugly ,to be fair I've just encourage someone to complain to the police but as a rule they are looking to suppott

@Youshallnotpass That's a good point about whether it would be in the public interest. You're right that it probably wouldn't be...

@Gettingbackonmyfeet That's really interesting, thanks for giving us that perspective

I think because they are likely to need medical attention - for both physical and mental health.

I may be cynical but I always think they just want to charge her.
The police are concerned with preventing crime and arresting those who commit crime.
They are not social workers.

I would imagine the police say this to assure the mother that they don’t want to prosecute her. Their primary concern would be her health and alleviating an fears she has about seeking medical care.

Secondary to that I imagine there is concern that a crime has been committed. People trafficking, child abuse, rape etc.

I saw the news too and thought how cold a night it was. Should we have safe haven laws here? Most mothers do come forward though don't they? How devastating to be a foundling.

Tbf sometimes you see nurses or Drs on the news say we would like to try and reunite mum and baby but I don't think they should be saying that either.

@thighofrelief101 I think that we do have something like that - people can leave babies in hospitals etc. Unless I'm getting mixed up with the US?

I think it's genuine concern but leaving a baby outside last night was a bloody awful thing to do. If that dog walker hadn't heard her she'd have frozen to death.
They had put her in a bag so could at least have left her somewhere warm or more likely to be found.

@ILoveMaxiBondi I would imagine the police say this to assure the mother that they don’t want to prosecute her. Their primary concern would be her health and alleviating an fears she has about seeking medical care.

That's what I always thought too.

The US does, i don't know about UK, i don't think so.

It's an awful thing to do, but that is not the same as the person themselves being an awful person.

Most women who abandon newborns are not a danger to society in other ways, and do not have records of committing violent acts. They generally benefit form help, not condemnation.

It generally goes against all natural instinct to abandon a baby so I do think it is genuine concern for mental/physical health. Even very seriously mentally ill women tend to be more likely to damage themselves than their babies. Whatever the exact circumstances, the situation is very sad for all involved and that baby was incredibly lucky to have been found quite quickly on such a cold night.

For some reason fire stations are coming to mind as a “baby drop off” place but maybe I’m thinking of the US?

I saw a thing about a scandanavian country offering safe haven places

www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-46801838

We don't have specific safe haven laws because our laws are predominantly boundary based and anything that doesn't violate them is permissible (although that's not as unrestrictive as it sounds ) so effectively we operate around the child safety laws

Leaving a baby at a hospital where it is in no danger and you ensure it is found fast isn't as such a crime but you obviously may be forfeiting parental responsibility

It would be the difference between handing to a nurse and leaving and leaving in a dangerous place where it could be harmed

All of our laws are about a level of interpretation around the spirit of the law

No one wants to kick a desperate mother they want to keep everyone safe ultimately

Don't forget the police don't just deal with crime their role is to protect the public

Whether people believe it or not most officers I've dealt with have this at their core even if they get it wrong or apply it the wrong way it's rare not to at least see that justification

It was a church in Germany it wasn't scandanavia at all

I have known of someone who left their baby in the hospital after giving birth, so it is possible to do.

Maybe the person in this case didn't give birth in a hospital or is from another company country and so isn't entitled to NHS care? I can't see someone going to a random hospital and being able to leave a baby with them, no questions asked.

"The police are concerned with preventing crime and arresting those who commit crime."

The Woman could have been abused, be under age, trafficked etc. Or need MH input, all that comes under preventing/solving crime.

The role of the Police does sometimes cross over into Welfare/Health.

There's been lots of abandoned babies and the Mothers found. I don't think that any of them have been charged.

Re: reuniting mother with baby, you don't know that it was the mother who chose to leave her baby. Someone else could have taken it away from her.

If you went to anh nhs hospital in labour they would deliver your baby

No concern, police aren't social services. They are the only service which will appeal for the mother to come forward however.

This is two fold, to gather evidence for a prosecution and to reduce the risk to others, if the mother has other children at home for example or is vulnerable in some other way.

I know (on a personal level) a few senior police officers and all have said the same when ever I have asked, and I have asked. They said that no, they have never cared about any victim, missing peraon, or anybody else. Their only concern is to cover their own backs, fill in all the forms and get the case off their list. They don't lie awake at night thinking about any victim, they lie awake thinking if they have done all the forms, made all the referrals and updated all the systems, but never about the victim.

The police will prosecute this mother if they find her. The police are not your friend. They won't waste their time talking to you unless they have to.

@ItsMEhooray True