Written evidence submitted by Melanie Kay McLaughlan, Usame Altuntas and Professor Marion Oswald MBE (corresponding author) (Northumbria University) , to the House of Commons Committee on the Crime and Policing Bill (CPB67)

Executive Summary
· Chapter 2 of the Crime and Policing Bill 2025 introduces a duty to report child sexual abuse, but several gaps and weaknesses should be addressed. In our opinion, there are four key weaknesses surrounding the Bill’s proposed duty.
· First, the duty to report does not extend to individuals in managerial or supervisory roles (e.g., clergy, bishops, or institutional leaders), focusing solely on those with direct contact with children. This creates a significant gap in accountability.
· Secondly, the Bill applies only to known abuses, excluding suspected abuse, which could result in many incidents being overlooked. It also does not account for the role of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) in detecting and highlighting suspected abuse.
· Thirdly, the lack of criminal penalties for failing to report known abuse undermines the effectiveness of the mandatory duty, as there is minimal deterrence for non-compliance. Although it is expected that professional sanctions and implications for disclosure and barring checks would result, the Bill does not appear to make such sanctions obligatory. The omission of criminal penalties for failure to report known abuse also contradicts the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA).
· Finally, the Bill specifies that reporting does not breach any confidentiality obligations or information disclosure restrictions. However, mandatory reporting is not clearly stated to be a paramount duty. We would recommend that a clarificatory amendment is made to avoid uncertainty.