Reporting a safeguarding concern
If you suspect you or someone you know is at risk of or experiencing abuse or neglect, please report it now. Don't assume that someone else is doing something to help. Safeguarding is everybody's business.
The online forms below can be used to report concerns about adults at risk of or experiencing abuse or neglect in Portsmouth local authority area only.
Adult safeguarding concerns are reviewed and screened by social care staff during office working hours. Our office working hours are:
• Monday - Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
• Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Concerns are not screened outside of office hours. If you need urgent assistance from social care outside of office hours call 0300 555 1373. If you think an adult or child is at immediate risk of harm you must call 999.
If you have a concern about a child, contact the Children's Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) on 023 9268 8793
If your concern is not urgent, please complete an online form below.
I am reporting this safeguarding concern as:
• An adult at risk - use this form if you are the person at risk of or being abused or neglected
• A member of the Public - use this form if you are a concerned member of the public, friend, relative or neighbour of the person being abused or neglected
• A professional/organisation - use this form if you are reporting a safeguarding concern in a professional capacity and/or on behalf of an organisation
I am reporting this concern as a:
Guidance for self-referrals
***If you are reporting a concern as a professional, please navigate back to the previous screen and select 'Professionals/Organisations'***
If you need support completing this form, please call 023 9268 0810 during office hours
Please provide as much information as you can. If you do not have some of the information, select or type 'unknown'
When completing this form, you will need to tell us about:
• You - your name, address and contact details
• The person or organisation who has harmed you
• When and where the harm happened
• What you want to happen to keep you safe
What happens when I report a concern?
When you report a concern to Adult Social Care, we will:
• Listen to you and take your concerns seriously
• Make enquiries about the concerns you have raised
• Consider your views and wishes about what you want to happen to keep you safe
• Talk to other agencies that might need to be involved e.g., care homes, police, GP, other social workers
• Refer you to another agency for specialist support if required
• Decide on the best way to keep you safe now, and in the future
• Support you to live your life the way you want, free from harm
Police Response
If a concern is reported and it appears a crime has been committed, we may share this information with the Police MASH team. They may contact you for further information during their enquiries.
Guidance for members of the public
***If you are reporting a concern as a professional, please navigate back to the previous screen and select 'Professionals/Organisations'***
If you need support completing this form, please call 023 9268 0810 during office hours
Please provide as much information as you can. If you do not have some of the information, select or type 'unknown'
When completing this form, you will need to tell us about:
• You - your name, address and contact details (you will have the option to remain anonymous)
• The adult who is at risk of or experiencing abuse or neglect
• The source of harm
• When and where the harm happened
• What the adult at risk would like to happen to keep them safe (if you know this information)
Please provide as much information as you can. If you do not have some of the information, select or type 'unknown'
What happens when I report a concern?
When you report a concern to Adult Social Care, we will:
• Listen to you and take your concerns seriously
• Make enquiries about the concerns you have raised
• Consider the views and wishes of the adult at risk. This may involve talking directly to them, or supporting them with an advocate (someone to represent them) if they need one
• Talk to other agencies that might need to be involved e.g., care homes, police, GP, other social workers
• Refer the person to another agency for specialist support if required
• Decide on the best way to keep the person safe now, and in the future
• Support the adult to live their life the way they want, free from harm
Police Response
If a concern is reported and it appears a crime has been committed, we may share this information with the Police MASH team. They may contact you for further information during their enquiries.
Please note that this is a secure form and will time out/close after
45 minutes.
• When a safeguarding concern is reported, the MASH will look at your concern and decide with you what should happen next.
• This is called Responding to the Concern and gathering information.
• Together we will consider how best to help you.
• Someone from the MASH will decide with you if a safeguarding response or a different response is needed to make sure you are safe.
• You will be offered support to make your own choices about what you want to happen to stay safe.
• You may be offered a Care Act assessment and support plan to support you to stay safe.
• Further information may be gathered to make decisions and safeguard you from the risk of further abuse.
Police Response
The MASH Policing Team will screen the safeguarding concern, and will research their systems for relevant information relating to the safeguarding concern. They will decide if a criminal offence has been committed and if this needs to be recorded.
• The Police may record the information as an Adult at Risk or intelligence, which will assist officers and Police Community Support Officers to understand issues, and provide better support to vulnerable adults within their area.
• The police may record a crime - the crime could be filed at the MASH with no further action depending on the circumstances, or could be allocated to a uniformed officer to investigate.
• Officers may speak to you for further information about the offence, or interview you or the person who has abused or neglected you, as part of an investigation to safeguard vulnerable adults and bring offenders to justice.
The MASH will look at the safeguarding concern, and decide what should happen next.
• We may contact you to confirm information and gather any other information required.
• This is called Responding to the Concern and gathering information.
• Someone from the MASH will decide if a safeguarding response or a different response is needed to make sure the Adult at Risk is safe.
• We will work with the Adult at Risk to consider how best to keep them safe.
• They will be offered support to make their own choices about what they want to happen to keep them safe.
• The Adult at Risk may be offered a Care Act assessment.
• Further information may be gathered to make decisions and safeguard the Adult at Risk from further abuse.
• We will contact you to inform you of the decisions we have made.
Police Response
The MASH Policing Team screens the safeguarding concern, and will research their systems for relevant information relating to the safeguarding concern. They will decide if a criminal offence has been committed and if this needs to be recorded.
• The police may record the information as an Adult At Risk or intelligence, which will assist officers and Police Community Support Officers in understanding issues, and providing better support to vulnerable adults within their area.
• The police may record a crime - The crime could be filed at the MASH with no further action depending on the circumstances, or could be allocated to a uniformed officer to investigate.
• Officers may speak to you for further information about the offence, or interview the Adult at Risk or the person alleged to have caused harm, as part of an investigation to safeguard vulnerable adults and bring offenders to justice.
• When a safeguarding concern is reported, the MASH will look at the safeguarding concern, and decide what should happen next.
• We may contact you to confirm information and gather any other information required.
• This is called Responding to the Concern and gathering information.
• Someone from the MASH will decide if a safeguarding response or a different response is needed to make sure the Adult at Risk is safe.
• We will work with the Adult at Risk to consider how best to keep them safe.
• They will be offered support to make their own choices about what they want to happen to keep them safe.
• The Adult at Risk may be offered a Care Act assessment.
• Further information may be gathered to make decisions and safeguard the Adult at Risk from further abuse.
• We will contact you to inform you of the decisions we have made.
Police Response
The MASH Policing Team screens the safeguarding concern, and will research their systems for relevant information relating to the safeguarding concern. They will decide if a criminal offence has been committed and if this needs to be recorded.
• The police may record the information as an Adult At Risk or intelligence, which will assist officers and Police Community Support Officers in understanding issues, and providing better support to vulnerable adults within their area.
• The police may record a crime - The crime could be filed at the MASH with no further action depending on the circumstances, or could be allocated to a uniformed officer to investigate.
• Officers may speak to you for further information about the offence, or interview the Adult at Risk or the person alleged to have caused harm, as part of an investigation to safeguard vulnerable adults and bring offenders to justice.