30 October 2018 1

The Children’s Society

@ChildsocLND@lucyhdacey

The scale of child criminal

exploitation and policy context

Our work, vulnerabilities, risk factors and emerging trends

Resources and good practice

Child Criminal Exploitation occurs where an individual or group takes

advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce,

control, manipulate or deceive a child or young

person under the age of 18 into any criminal

activity (a) in exchange for something the victim

needs or wants, and/or (b) for the financial or

other advantage of the perpetrator or facilitator

and/or (c) through violence or the threat of

violence. The victim may have been criminally

exploited even if the activity appears consensual.

Child Criminal Exploitation does not always

involve physical contact; it can also occur through

the use of technology.

The Children’s Society’s youth experts describe county lines as:

‘Invisible borders that separate a person’s hometown from where they are sent to “work” (selling drugs, sex, firearms etc) for older members of a gang or crew. Young people are usually sent in twos or threes for intimidation purposes and “backup”. A young person will typically spend less than two weeks away from home, keeping in regular contact with their ‘elders’ via burner phones.’

30 October 2018 5

The exploitation of children

“although the exploitation of children continues to be reported, the true scale of abuse remains an intelligence gap in many parts of the county”

NCA report ‘County Lines Violence, Exploitation and Drug Supply 2017’

Review of Modern

Slavery Act

APPG on missing

Upcoming policy

report on county lines

The scale of child criminal

exploitation and policy context

Our work, vulnerabilities, risk factors and emerging trends

Resources and good practice

30 October 2018 8

The Children’s Society services in London

• Disrupting Exploitation Programme delivering in London, Birmingham and Manchester

• STRIDE service in London - CCE

• Missing and outreach services - RHIs

• International trafficking services

• VAWG services, Fresh Step

• Refugee and Migrant services 14-21

• Advocacy – LAC and disability

• Child sexual abuse and exploitation

30 October 2018 9

What is the DExProgramme?

• BLF funded London, Birmingham andManchester.

• Each region will have a multi-disciplinary response team. In Londonwe have a caseworker, therapist,intelligence officer and a service manager

• A National Programme Manager will workwith the locally based DisruptingExploitation Managers to draw learningfrom the three regions. They will feeddirectly into The Children’s Society’snational policy and practice teams toimprove the policies and proceduresthat impact on children experiencingand at risk of exploitation.

So what does our Disrupting Exploitation programme look like?

Three multi-disciplinary response teams established in London, Birmingham and Manchester.

Each team includes 1-1 case workers, intelligence capability

and in London therapeutic support.

The teams are co-located across the system we’re working with to

improve the response to exploitation, including police,

local authority and partner VCS organisations.

Where and how the team works has been designed collectively by The Children’s Society and

partners. We will be responsive and work where there are gaps.

In London we’re focusing on marginalised groups, the link

between international and domestic trafficking and support

for parents.

The team can accept two different types of referrals. We

can accept referrals for 1-1 work with young people. We are also accepting referrals for systems

change tasks, including contexts at risk.

We will support young people to change the system of exploitation

through our participation work.

Our way of working means we can provide a contextualised and creative response to children at

risk of exploitation.

We will put power to test and innovate in the hands of our

workers with a dedicated test and learn budget for practitioners to design and innovate to develop

solutions to support young people.

The learning from the programme is shared across the

programme and nationally through our policy and

influencing team.

30 October 2018 11

Systems Change

Systems change is similar to

contextual safeguarding. It is

where The Children’s Society

can work with agencies,

professionals, companies and

marginalised groups to change

the systems around young

people to make them better at

keeping young people safe.

Anyone can refer a ‘systems

change’ task to ask us to help

disrupt exploitationpartneragencies.

College – Identified number of CSE cases, targeting during transit

from college to railway station in close proximity to college

Supported College with the development and their subsequent

delivery of tutorials which would reach around 5000 students.

Presentation to safeguarding leads at college – Feb 2018.

Planned delivery of awareness raising sessions around

exploitation and vulnerability to BTP Staff, East Midlands Trains,

Cross Counry Trains, Station staff and retail staff. (Jan 2018)

Retail tenants event at Station (Jan 2018)

Focus groups completed and more booked with YP – this is to

gain their experiences and views around transport and what they

would like to see the project look like.

Promotion of the 61016 text resource (BTP) amongst college

students, and 61016 branded travel card wallets distributed to

students with train and bridge passes. Linked BTP social media

with college social media to further raise awareness – overt digital

campaign to compliment this.

Intel sharing procedures are in place, and there is an agreement

between FIB and BTP.

Case studies Football club – CSE in young men.

We found that the FA requires all of their coaches to attend a

three hour face to face training session on safeguarding.

However, coaches stated that they did not receive any

awareness raising or training specific to CSA/E. Some felt that

on reflection they could recognise the importance of this and

they are often exposed to information and intelligence which

may be concerning and that they may miss opportunities to

safeguard and educate young people.

TCS made connections with Newcastle Elite Football

Academy which has been set up by four premier league

football players, Elite are committed to working with us to

increase young people and coaches awareness of CSA/E and

have agreed to take part in an awareness raising short video

clip involving four footballers with the Elite Academy.

We held a number of CSA/E awareness raising events; one in

each police force area. 30-50 football coaches invited from

Grassroots teams where they would be given education and

training around CSA/E; how to spot the signs, share

intelligence and raise safeguarding concerns. Those who

attend would be given the opportunity to express interest in

becoming champions of CSA/E in their area and would

receive extra training and resources to deliver to other

coaches within their established training and introduce

awareness raising workshops and discussions with young

people. This will allow learning to be sustainable and far

reaching.

The video around the signs of CSE which was shared by

players and the football club, reaching millions of followers

and young people.

Some trends have we seen so far? Children being trafficked within local area for CCE and not being recognised

Symptoms of PTSD in children returning from missing episodes not being recognised

Spike in 12/13 year olds missing

Immigration a push factor for CCE / CLE

LGTBQ+ CSE own specific threat, no specialised service, London chemsex and dating

apps with GHB and other drugs make serious threat to YP

PRUs agreed everywhere as hotspot for CCE and CSE, no joined up approach or

recognition in DfE and Home Office

Parents desperate for help, feeling pushed out of CP process, impact on mental health

Digital collateral widely used

Instrumental violence – i.e. to move drugs/weapons out of area OCG will ask children to

commit a stabbing to police response is focussed on different part of local area

Regional trends

14

Increase in street based violence

Issues around immigration a push factor

Gangs are fluid

McDonalds etc hotspots for grooming

Unlicensed music events / rave scene as hotspots

Trend of young females aged 12/13 being ‘tested’

PRUs areas of recruitment

Shisha bars etc. areas of recruitment

Out of London children brought back in

Use of party apps

Spike in CSE / CCE after the school holidays –perpetration / grooming happens in holidays but disclosures happen after

Increased rapes of young females

Young women being used for sex by adult crack and heroin users

The scale of child criminal

exploitation and policy context

Our work, vulnerabilities, risk factors and emerging trends

Resources and good practice

Toolkits

Child Abduction Warning

Notices and Modern

Slavery Risk Orders

Gang injunctions

Restriction Orders on telephones

National Referral

Mechanism

Disruption checklist

30 October 2018 19

Recommendations linked to local practice

• Children at risk of child criminal exploitation should have a strategy meeting called about their needs, and a safeguarding and disruption plan developed for the child and their family.

• Local authorities and the police should be able to flag on

each other’s systems where children are at risk of child

criminal exploitation

• All children who go missing should receive a RHI and

intelligence from this interview shared with agencies to

build up a profile of need in the local area

• Children should not be criminalised as a first resort, and

criminal prosecutions should not be progressed whilst a

referral to the National Referral Mechanism is taking place

Thank you

Lucy Dacey and Rhiannon Sawyer

lucy.dacey@childrenssociety.org.uk

@lucyhdacey

Rhiannon.sawyer@childrenssociety.org.uk

www.childrenssociety.org.uk