Safeguarding and the Abuse of
Vulnerable Adults
The duty of care in respect of
safeguarding rests with all public services having contact with the
general public, but the prevention, identification, investigation,
risk management and detection of criminal offences against
vulnerable adults is a fundamental role of the police service.
Hertfordshire Constabulary takes
allegations of abuse against vulnerable adults seriously and within
the County Community Safety Unit there is the Safeguarding Adults
From Abuse (SAFA) Investigation Team who deal with allegations of
crime committed against a vulnerable adult by a person in a
position of trust or someone with a responsibility of care.
A vulnerable adult is anyone aged
18 or over;
• who is or may be in need of
community services because of mental or other illness, disability
or age, and
• who is, or may be, unable to take care of themselves against
significant harm or serious exploitation.
Abuse can take the form of
physical, sexual, financial, neglect, emotional, psychological and
discriminatory nature
If you have concerns that a
vulnerable adult is being abused:
Call Herts County Council - Health and Community
Services number (including out of hours): 
0300 123 4042.
If there is a danger to life, a
risk of injury or a crime is taking place, call the Police by
dialing 999 if an emergency or 101 in non-emergency
situations.
If the vulnerable adult is living in a registered care home or
receiving domiciliary (home) care services, you can contact the
Care Quality Commission (CQC) on 03000 616 161.
Alternatively if you are seeing a
public service professional, such as a social worker, community
nurse, GP, probation officer or district nurse, you can share your
concerns with them. They have responsibilities under the county's
safeguarding adult’s procedure and can advise you about what to do
next.
Referral
Click here to contact the SAFA team.
DOWNLOAD
Click here to download
the Safeguarding Adults Procedure.