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Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Original poster

Anonymous report to social services

23 replies

Dancemagicdance42 · 26/09/2020 14:19

Hi. Im worried about someone I care about.. Can I report anonymously to social services. Will they be able to trace a phone call or email?

OP posts:
FlitterMouse · 26/09/2020 14:23

Whats your worry. Are they in danger. How old are they.

Original poster
Dancemagicdance42 · 26/09/2020 14:26

Worried about a child and their mother. They are in imminent danger and police can't do anything. That's all I can say. The child is 3.5 years old.

OP posts:
CodenameVillanelle · 26/09/2020 14:26

No they won't. You should definitely report.

DifficultPifcultLemonDifficult · 26/09/2020 14:31

What do you mean by imminent danger?

At this point calling SS may not be wise if it's going to alert the family that someone is watching out, but theres not evidence that there is something wrong.

You may well be better off talking to the mum and helping her get in touch with womens aid and get out of there, dependent on the situation of course.

Shayisgreat · 26/09/2020 14:42

Yes, you can report anonymously to the children's services. They won't be able to trace you and they won't be able to tell the family who provided the information for the referral. But you won't be told if they choose to take any action.

Gobbycop · 26/09/2020 14:46

Why can police not help?

If they are in imminent danger they are the only people that can help.

FlitterMouse · 26/09/2020 15:21

Call the police if they are in imminent danger. Why do you think they can't do anything. You can also call childline. Are the mum and child able to leave safely and fet to somewhere safe.

Azif · 26/09/2020 15:35

If danger is imminent you need to phone police and tell them what the danger is.
Are they are in an abusive household? Are you in contact with mum and child? It must be a terrible worry for you Flowers

S111n20 · 26/09/2020 15:43

Hard to say without knowing what is happening ? But if they are in danger why can’t the police help ?

JamieLeeCurtains · 26/09/2020 15:47

Yes you can report anonymously - you can call the duty social worker on the help desk number on your council's website.

Tell them why you think the police won't help.

OverTheRubicon · 26/09/2020 15:49

You may well be better off talking to the mum and helping her get in touch with womens aid and get out of there, dependent on the situation of course.

That is not good advice, given that the mum would presumably be taking action herself if she either recognised the danger or felt capable of changing it. There's also every chance that if you subsequently report it, they blame you. Better to let her know gently you support her, never say you'll report (or lie about not reporting) then call the police if it's urgent, or.otherwise NSPCC or social services anonymously.

KimKsButt · 26/09/2020 15:52

If its to do with domestic violence can you call women's aid to get some advice? I have a friend who works for a women’s refuge and she often has to post advice on social media contradicting some of the popular advice, it’s a far more complicated situation than you think.

3teens2cats · 26/09/2020 15:54

If they are in immediate danger then police have more powers than social services.

DifficultPifcultLemonDifficult · 26/09/2020 16:00

That is not good advice

It obviously depends on the situation, but it is sound advice actually.

Alerting a potentially dangerous person to the fact the family is being watched could drive them to isolate the mother and child. If, for example, the guy is making threats, social services show up, they deny it, SS mark it as a malicious call, then nobody is any better off and they will have none looking out for them.

Quietly supporting the mother and child to leave would enable the op to keep an eye on the situation, and help.

It's all speculation just now, and nobody can give proper advice because we dont know the situation, but sometimes its not best to dive in reporting things right away as it could cause more problems than it solves if theres nothing very obviously wrong.

Kanaloa · 26/09/2020 16:30

If they are in imminent danger does it matter if they know who called social services? I don’t know the situation but it doesn’t seem like there is a good alternative to calling and getting help.

OverTheRubicon · 26/09/2020 16:53

If they are in imminent danger does it matter if they know who called social services?

It does if the bloke is violent, has violent friends, and you are a single elderly lady living next door and terrified. Or if you're a teenager reporting your own parent. Any number of reasons.

Craddle64 · 26/09/2020 18:16

Imminent danger? You call 999 not post on MN. Do you know what imminent means?

scrivette · 26/09/2020 18:21

Imminent danger is 999, all the Safeguarding training I have done makes this very clear.

user1471082124 · 26/09/2020 19:11

You should call social services. They will undertake a multi agency check, school, hv etc.
The victim may deny the abuse but it is logged. Any further information received after this of further concern/ incidents increases the concerns.
The child, child’s nursery and wider family maybe contacted depending upon the nature of the referral. If you are concerned for their safety make the referral. If the women goes to women’s aid, they will also make the referral to keep the child safe. This is statute under The Children’s Act and Working Together.

DifficultPifcultLemonDifficult · 26/09/2020 19:33

Womens aid don't automatically make a referral to SS at all, and it's pretty dangerous to state that as fact. That will potentially put someone in a dangerous situation off calling for help.

Any referrals are made on a case by case basis.

Social services also don't always do a multi agency check either. Sometimes it's simply a letter or a call or a quick visit. It's all totally dependent on the situation which op hasn't clarified.

Littlefrog99 · 26/09/2020 19:41

Yes you can make an anonymous report. I don't know if it's the same for all local authorities but mine still have to take your contact details. They do give assurances that your details won't be shared though. If you think that a child is in danger then you must report it to someone.

SJWeller73 · 09/06/2021 16:04

I would like to report a man of 83 who has dementia, his step son is in his 40:s who is a paranoid scitaphrenic and the wife is in her late 60:s. They are my my neighbours and living in a one bedroom flat which is VERY small. She cant cope but refuses to say so. Her son has been sectioned twice over the last year or so, once for punching his step farther and kicking the tv in. The other episode, im not sure about but i know he was away in a phyc unit for a week or so. Do you think that this is a healthy life living in each others pockets like that?? Im sure its against the law for 3 adults living in a 1 bedroom flat.

Montymorency · 09/06/2021 16:22

You can raise sageguarding online with local authority. but for information, this is an old thread

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