Updating an adviser about an immediate risk

When an immediate risk changes, lead with the new event and whether it is happening now. If there is current danger, call 999; do not wait for an adviser to open a message. ^[1]

Put urgent facts before the case history

State your location where safe, whether children are present, what the person has said or done and whether they can reach you. Identify any relevant order or police condition and the conduct you believe may breach it. A short factual update helps the recipient assess urgency more quickly than resending the entire chronology.

Explain what has changed since the last advice: an unexpected release, a discovered address, a threat about a hearing or an unplanned attempt to collect a child. Avoid describing every development as identical if one creates a new exposure.

Confirm who has received the update

Use the agreed urgent contact route and check whether it is monitored at that time. Tell the adviser if police or another agency are already involved and provide a reference when available. Do not assume separate professionals have shared the information.

Once immediate steps are underway, add the event to the incident chronology and preserve available evidence. If a forthcoming hearing needs different arrangements, connect the update to the participation request rather than leaving the court plan unchanged.

Identify the event that makes earlier advice incomplete An adviser may have assessed the case on assumptions that are no longer true: an address was believed to be unknown, a person was subject to conditions, or a handover was expected to use a particular intermediary. State which assumption has changed and how you learned of it. This gives the recipient a reason to revisit the plan. A message containing only the word urgent may convey distress without revealing what needs to be reassessed.

Describe the timing carefully. Distinguish an event happening now from a threat about tomorrow, information received today about yesterday, or a possible future development that has not been confirmed. Give the exact words of a threat where safely available and identify whether you heard them directly or received a report from someone else. Do not wait to perfect the chronology before raising a present danger. Government domestic abuse guidance directs immediate danger to emergency services. ^[1]

Supply a short, usable update through the agreed route Put the current event, people at risk and immediate practical question at the beginning. Identify the case and any order or condition that may be relevant. If a safe callback is possible only during a short period, state that clearly. Avoid attaching the whole history unless requested; a relevant message, the operative order and a concise explanation may allow faster initial assessment. Additional evidence can follow through a suitable method once the urgent information has reached the responsible person.

If you cannot safely provide a location in writing, explain the contact limitation and use the appropriate secure or emergency route. Do not place a protected address into a shared email chain merely because the matter is urgent. Tell the recipient whether the person causing concern can reach you or the child, and what immediate support is already involved. The aim is to make the new exposure understandable without spreading sensitive information beyond those who need it.

Distinguish notification from acceptance of a task Check whether the agreed urgent route is monitored at that time. A sent message, automated receipt or receptionist's note may show that contact occurred without confirming that an adviser has assessed the risk or agreed to make an application. Ask what action has been accepted, by whom and when the next response is expected. If the provider cannot act within the necessary time, clarify the alternative advice route while using emergency services where the situation requires them.

Where police, a support worker or another professional has already been contacted, identify the organisation, time and available reference. Explain what they have actually said or done, rather than assuming the lawyer has access to their systems. If a response is pending, mark it as pending. Distinguishing each professional's role prevents a gap in which everyone is thought to be dealing with the same issue while no one has accepted the particular legal step required.

Connect the update to the next planned event A changed risk may affect a hearing, a letter due to be sent, a collection of belongings or a child handover. Name the event and its timing so the adviser can assess whether the existing arrangement still works. If an order appears to require conduct that now raises concern, provide the document and ask about the appropriate urgent route. Do not assume that a private message alone changes the order or authorises an informal exception.

After immediate action is addressed, preserve a record of the update and any resulting instructions. Add the event to the chronology with its actual date and note any evidence still to be obtained. Confirm whether the court or another organisation needs to receive further information through a formal process. Keep later developments linked to the original update, especially if a threat is withdrawn, a condition changes or new information corrects the first account. Accurate follow-up enables the next decision to be based on the current position rather than an outdated emergency message.