Too make a welfare call to the police

[Yellowsnowtogo]

Neighbours downstairs constantly screaming and yelling at their child. Really really loud every day at least 6 times a day. I called the police. They came to the door and said the kids were fine and basically I shouldn't really call unless I saw any physical abuse. They did say they would pass on concerns to SS. But I did feel like they were me dismissing a little. So aibu in calling??

I'm sure they have, as I've seen a police car there before a few months ago. I don't talk to neighbours much.

Report to SS OP and keep on doing it. It would be appalling to be one of those people who turned a blind eye and then something terrible happens. You are doing the right thing.

Always report. In every child death that's been in the news over the last two years, there were witnesses. Neighbours could give full accounts, but never reported any of it. When working within SS, we found the police very frustrating. They didn't follow procedures and seemed to have a "what will be, will be" attitude.
My DD got in the habit of shouting, she'd been through DV, she turned things around with the help of our local DV services. One parent seems to be struggling and the family needs intervention. If the children wasn't crying I'd say that some cultures seem more verbally aggressive than they are being.

Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility that phone call could be the last piece of a jigsaw you don’t know if school or other services are concerned
you did the right thing

No your not I'm sure the neighbours of children who have died regret not reporting when they have heard stuff going on. Maybe contact social services or nspcc and make a note of anything else you hear.

I got to be honest the newspapers stories of those poor kids were in my head. 😞 I think I panicked a bit

Yanbu.

You did the right thing.
You wouldn't forgive yourself if you didn't report it.

Police can only follow protocol it's not hire fault they couldn't do anything.

When you hear anything record it on your phone and report to SS and or police. That's all you can do

Did the police really say not to call unless you see physical abuse?
How could you behind closed doors?

Abusing each other verbally is still abuse of child

Far better to report and be wrong, than to be right and stay silent.

If only more people did this, some poor children might be alive today.

Google "your local council safeguarding" and call them to report concerns, don’t assume that the police will do it. The safeguarding hub will probably run 9-5 Monday to Friday with a duty team for weekends. This can wait until after the weekend unless it gets more severe.

If you thought the child was I immediate danger then 999 for police would be fine. But not appropriate if it was less than this.

Prob NSPCC would be a better shout to find out what's going on. They would investigate/at least consider whether one was required. Might just be their language sounds harsh to our ear, maybe some parenting support required or yes possibly abuse. The NSPCC would engage the police if needed too.

Whilst there are several forms of abuse I think the police would only really pick up on reports of physical or sexual abuse from an initial report, even these crimes are a nightmare to get a prosecution or persue a case! Bear in mind that the regular front line officers will probably only have very minimal training in abuse/detection so they're only going to look for the big stuff. I'm a front line Paramedic and the only child safeguarding courses Ive ever been offered are a 30min online certification which has to be done once a year. Yet people sometimes call the ambulance service to detect these things and we are just not tied in at all which is why we ourselves would just submit a safeguarding report on to nspcc or similar if anyone reported a concern about a child.

If you've genuine concerns about a child's welfare goto the experts/NSPCC, unless immediate threat to life is a possibility.

@jannier

Abusing each other verbally is still abuse of child

I didn't say otherwise.

Social services have no resources to deal with emotional abuse. They hardly have enough staff to deal with more serious abuse.

@jaqual with respect, whilst emotional abuse may not directly kill a child, it is extremely damaging. It may lead to extremely low self worth, self harm, suicide, risky behaviours, addiction and ofcourse, as adults these survivors are more likely to enter into abusive relationships.

ye1s, you were right to call the police. I still think of little Arther who was murdered by that bitch emma tustin and the father, when i think how that poor little boy was treated it makes my stomach turn over

Yanbu, but without any other issues shouting won't be enough for action.

There's a school mum I talk to and she was telling me how the neighbours have sent the police round a few times when she's been arguing with her husband. She's completely bemused by it. She says in Albania they scream at eachother, it's normal. 😕

If the school or other agencies also notice changes in the child they report it and things will be monitored and looked at every bit of evidence helps.