By Kit Sandeman, Local Democracy Reporter
Hundreds of children in Nottinghamshire are at risk of child sexual exploitation, and there are dozens of ongoing police investigations, it has been revealed.
In just a nine-month spell last year, 424 young people were identified as being at a heightened risk of sexual exploitation.
As of January this year, Nottinghamshire Police had 42 open and ongoing investigations involving children in Nottinghamshire.
Of these investigations, 12 related to grooming by a single person online or by device only with no physical contact.
The majority – 30 investigations – involved physical contact with at least one alleged perpetrator.
There were no reported cases of group or gang-related child sexual exploitation (CSE) in the period.
Further, the majority of grooming was by ‘white British males aged between 18 and 30 years’, according to a report.
A host of initiatives are already in place, but it is hoped one new scheme set to be launched next month could be a welcome boost in tackling the crime.
Hundreds of taxi drivers have already been trained on how to spot the signs of CSE, but now it is hoped that staff at pubs, bars and restaurants could begin to receive training on what to look out for.
The latest figures were compiled by Nottinghamshire County Council, which says child sexual exploitation continues to be a priority.
The report found that: “Between April and December 2017, 424 children were identified as potentially vulnerable to CSE.
“These figures represent a combination of cases directly referred due to CSE concerns, and those referred for other reasons (e.g. missing) where a vulnerability to CSE has been identified.
“This is showing an increase on the previous year but it remains lower than the 2015/16 figure.
“Although clearly this is a large number, it is positive that Nottinghamshire agencies are alert to the possibility of CSE occurring.
“However, following assessment, a much smaller number are seen to require multi-agency intervention co-ordinated by a strategy meeting.
“During the same period multi-agency CSE strategy meetings were convened for 86 individual children.
“This is an increase on multi-agency CSE strategy meetings held in 2016/17. An increase should not be seen as negative as increased identification and reporting is key in tackling sexual exploitation.”
The report also investigated the number of children who go missing from home.
The year-end figures for 2016/17 show 50 percent of children were found in less than four hours and approximately 88 percent were found in 24 hours.
The average time missing being was just over 11 hours. A smaller group of young people go missing repeatedly and are subject to closer scrutiny, the report said.
Detective Chief Inspector Pete Quinn, from Nottinghamshire Police’s public protection department, said: “Nottinghamshire Police is committed to preventing child abuse and to apprehending those responsible for the sexual exploitation of children, and holding them to account for their appalling crimes.
“The true scale of the problem isn’t known and to address this, Nottinghamshire Police has developed specialist teams of officers dedicated to the investigation of child abuse and exploitation.
“Anybody affected by these issues raised can be reassured that should they find the courage to report what has happened to them to Nottinghamshire Police they will be believed and treated with the utmost dignity and respect.
“We work closely with our partners to keep children safe and identify those at risk of harm at the earliest opportunity, however parents and carers are often best placed to identify these risks. I would encourage anyone that cares for a child of any age to familiarise themselves with the early indicators of abuse and exploitation.”
He added support is available by visiting the NSPCC’s website. Adults concerned about a child can call the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000. Children and young people who need help can call Childline on 0800 1111 or visit the organisation’s website.
More support is available by visiting the Child Exploitation and Online Protection’s (CEOP) ThinkUKnow website.
