One of the most common reasons separated parents contact us is concern about a new partner who has entered their ex-partner’s life, and by extension, their child’s life. This is a natural and understandable concern: you have no control over who your ex-partner chooses to introduce to your child, and you may have very little information about that person beyond what your child or your ex-partner has told you.
Why This Concern Is Legitimate
It is entirely reasonable to want to know who is spending time with your child, particularly where that person is present unsupervised, lives in the same household, or has a role in your child’s day-to-day care. This is not an unreasonable intrusion into your ex-partner’s new relationship; it is a legitimate aspect of your ongoing responsibility for your child’s welfare, which both parents share regardless of the state of their own relationship.
The concern becomes a safeguarding issue, rather than simply personal curiosity, where there is a specific reason to question the new partner’s suitability to be around children: a criminal history, a pattern of behaviour that raises concern, or simply genuine unknowns about who this person actually is.
What a Background Investigation Establishes
Identity verification: confirming that the person is who they claim to be, including their full name and any relevant history under previous names.
Criminal record indicators: where lawfully accessible information indicates relevant criminal history, this is identified. Note that full DBS-style criminal record checks are not available to private investigators or members of the public for an individual without that individual’s consent; investigation in this area is limited to lawfully accessible public record information, including reported criminal proceedings and relevant court records.
Civil and family court history: any relevant family court history, including previous child arrangements proceedings, which may itself contain relevant safeguarding information.
Lifestyle and associations: the person’s general circumstances, associations, and any other lawfully obtained information relevant to a genuine welfare assessment.
What to Do If You Have a Genuine Safeguarding Concern
If you have specific information — not simply unease, but a specific reason to believe a new partner poses a risk to your child — the appropriate first step is to raise it directly, calmly, and in writing with your ex-partner, and to consider whether the concern is serious enough to raise with children’s social care. The NSPCC and the relevant local authority safeguarding team can advise on whether a specific concern meets the threshold for formal safeguarding intervention.
Background investigation supports this process by establishing facts, but it does not replace the statutory safeguarding system where a genuine risk is suspected. We will always be honest with you about whether what we find is something that should be escalated formally, and we can support you in doing so.
Where the Concern Is Less Defined
In many cases, the concern is less about a specific identified risk and more about the natural anxiety of not knowing who this person is. A background investigation in these circumstances provides reassurance — confirming that the person is who they say they are, has no concerning history, and does not present a basis for concern — which is itself a valuable and common outcome. Most of the background investigations we conduct in this category conclude with no adverse findings, and that conclusion, reported honestly, helps families move toward a more settled co-parenting relationship.
Want to find out more about a new partner spending time with your child? Contact UKPI Detectives for a confidential consultation.
