Dartford Borough Council is committed to meeting its statutory and moral duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and adults at risk who come into contact with its services and activities.

The Council has a Safeguarding Policy which sets out the procedures that will be followed when there are concerns or allegations of abuse or neglect towards a child or adult at risk. Safeguarding Guidelines for External Providers set out how external providers contracted to the Council should have due regard to safeguarding children and adults at risk.

Safeguarding is everyone's responsibility:

If you're worried that someone is suffering abuse, contact Kent County Council to report your concerns:

For out of hours call 0300 0419 191. If a child or adult is in immediate danger, always call 999 for the emergency services.

For more information on reporting abuse to Kent County Council, visit the Kent County Council website.

The Kent Safeguarding Children Multi-Agency Partnership is the partnership body responsible for coordinating and ensuring the effectiveness of Kent Services in protecting and promoting the welfare of children and young people.

The Kent and Medway Safeguarding Adults Board is the partnership body responsible for making sure that all member agencies are working together to help keep adults safe from harm and protect their rights.

Child Sexual Exploitation:

Child sexual exploitation is a form of child sexual abuse. It occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child or young person under the age of 18 into sexual activity (a) in exchange for something the victim needs or wants, and/or (b) for the financial advantage or increased status of the perpetrator or facilitator. The victim may have been sexually exploited even if the sexual activity appears consensual. Child sexual exploitation does not always involve physical contact; it can also occur through the use of technology.

If you're concerned a child or young person is at risk of sexual exploitation, you can call:

If a child or young person is in immediate danger, always call 999 for the emergency services.

Prevent:

Prevent is the Government strategy to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. Those who commit acts of terror or support such acts are often influenced by another person's extremist views, or by reading or viewing extremist material. This can lead them to believe that committing acts of terror is justified and acceptable. Tackling extremist material is therefore important to protect the public and prevent offences that incite or promote terrorism and extremism.

The internet and social media provides many opportunities for those with extreme views to target young or vulnerable individuals. The Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (a specialist police unit) put considerable effort into removing terrorist and extremist material however it is the input from communities which defeats terrorism, which is why we must maintain the strong relationship between the public and police. Police depend on information from the public in our efforts to keep us all safe, and we are asking anyone who has concerns about online content to report it to the police by clicking the STOP Terrorists' and Extremists' Online button

Modern Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking:

The Modern Slavery Helpline provides information and advice about modern slavery, a 24 hour telephone reporting line (0800 012 1700) and online reporting.