Child Physical Abuse
Investigating Physical Child Abuse
What should a Juvenile Officer do when he suspects that abuse is happening? When investigating an incident of suspect child abuse that includes physical injury to a child, an officer should begin by asking himself the following basic questions:
- Does the injury to the child appear to be accidental?
- Does the injury to the child appear to be non-accidental?
- Is this apparent injury the result of natural or normally occurring phenomenon?
The third question refers to marks on a child’s body that appear to be bruises but are actually birthmarks or Mongolian Spots. The latter are congenital marks that look identical to fresh bruises but are permanent lesions on the skin. If a parent reports that a suspected bruise is really a Mongolian Spot, the officers should take a picture of the mark and then compare it to the spot a week later. If the mark is actually a bruise, it will change color and size in a week. Another option would be to check with the child’s pediatrician to verify the information.
