Q: What legal age can children be left home alone in michigan and can cops enter your house without permission.
You
Hi. The community i live in called the cops yesturday because my kids were left alone for 39 mins to an hour. Ages are 8,8,7 and 5. The babysitter overslept and never showed up. We even told the police that the babysitter has never missed a day and it was a fluke...we never leave our kids home alone. The officers stated they would have to report to the cps. The cops showed up at my wife's work to ask why they are home alone, she stated the babysitter should be there. The officers asked her if she could go home to the kids, which she was allowed to do. When my wife got there one cop was already in my house talking to the kids, we never gave permission to enter nor talk to the kids. I am waiting to see if cps calls. What should I do? It was a fluke and not once have they been left alone before and also, can a cop just walk in and talk to my kids?
A:
There is no set age when children can be left home alone, but I think there is a general consensus that any age under about 10-12 may rise to a level of concern. Your reason may be valid though. But why someone in your community called the police is a question to consider in all this.
The police are right: they are mandated reporters and must report to CPS. It doesn't sound like the police are looking to issue criminal charges, which is a good thing. What CPS will do, who knows.
Yes, the police can enter your home without permission in limited circumstances; this would be an example of one of those circumstances - to protect the children; not much different in that police can break your car window to get to your kid if left in the car.
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