It is the responsibility of the Council Officer to lead on adult protection investigations. Other agencies may be asked to become involved at this point if their action or contribution is required to forward the investigative process i.e. Housing/Health/Police or a Specialist Service.

If at any stage of the investigation it appears that a crime may have been committed the relevant information must be passed to the police at the earliest opportunity. While good practice is the adult at risk should be included in the process and given the opportunity to give their view this does not detract from the responsibilities of the public agencies to make a referral and the discussion and reasons for this recorded.   

The adult protection investigation requires to be carefully planned to ensure that:

• all available information is gathered and considered
• the adult is fully supported to contribute
• any medical intervention is provided
• any medical evidence is captured
• the ethos of the ASP Act is upheld