Previous Reference: Minute 34 (2015/16)

The Strategic Director, Children’s Services will present a report (Document “V”) which provides an update to the report presented to the Committee in 2015 regarding the issue of child sexual exploitation (CSE). It sets out the arrangements that have been put in place and which continue to develop to safeguard children from CSE.

Recommended –

(1)          That the contents of Document “V” be noted.

(2)          That the Committee consider ways in which CSE can be tackled at local level.

   (Jenny Cryer – 01274 434333)

Previous Reference: Minute 34 (2015/16)

The Strategic Director, Children’s Services presented a report (Document “V”) which provided an update to the report presented to the Committee in 2015 regarding the issue of child sexual exploitation (CSE). It set out the arrangements that had been put in place and which continued to develop to safeguard children from CSE.

It was reported that:

·         There was a continuing rise in the cases of potential or actual CSE that were referred to the Hub.

·         In the course of 2015/16 there was an average of 54 CSE referrals per month, compared to 36 per month the previous year.

·         In Bradford East on 27 October, there were 112 young people identified as at risk of CSE, including 14 considered to be at high risk.

·         20% of children considered to be at risk of CSE in East Bradford were males.

·         The peak age for males referred to the Hub was 14 years, for females it was 15 years; the peak age in East Bradford was 15.

·         The ward with the highest number of at risk children was Eccleshill, with Bolton and Undercliffe, Bowling and Barkerend and Bradford Moor close behind.

·         No ward had no children at risk with the lowest being one in Windhill and Wrose.

·         A breakdown of cases open on one day (29 March 2016) showed that 13% of cases were assessed as being at high risk, 42% at medium risk and 40% were low risk.

·         In the course of 2015/16, in the Bradford District, 109 crimes were recorded by West Yorkshire Police as “child sexual exploitation crimes”; this constituted 20% of all sexual offences against children recorded in Bradford during that period.

·         78% of identified offenders linked to CSE crimes were under the age of 36 while almost 60 % were under the age of 25.

Members were informed that Bradford Safeguarding Children Board had developed a 9 point strategic response to CSE which identified the priorities agreed by all partner organisations working with children and families in the Bradford District.  These priorities were outlined in paragraph 2.8 of the report.

Members made the following comments:

·         It was frightening that the work being undertaken now to tackle CSE was not being carried out only a few year ago; what was happening before?

·         Impressed with the work that was currently being undertaken to tackle CSE; how much additional resources had been put in; was enough being undertaken to tackle CSE?

·         Pleased to see more work being undertaken to stop people becoming perpetrators; Had work been undertaken as to what made someone become a perpetrator?

·         It was encouraging to note that 3,500 taxi drivers and operators had now been trained and the training was mandatory for all new licence applications; had operators of other mode of transport been looked at such as bus operators and operators carrying vulnerable adults etc.

·         Had the work on the “Nightwatch” Scheme worked in other authorities and was it working well in other areas?

·         Concerned about the high number of CSE cases in Eccleshill and had extra support been provided in the area?

·         Was targeted work being undertaken in areas such as sports clubs etc?

·         Pleased that the work being undertaken on CSE was a high priority for all involved; only 12% of Asian heritage children were referred to the Hub; was targeted work being undertaken in particular areas?

·         Had crime increased or were people reporting more due to awareness campaigns?

·         Needed to look at how we talk to young people and the different setting where this could be done such as community centres and youth workers; developing small groups and talking about the subject and listening to people.

·         Work of the Youth Service was vital in tackling CSE; children were more likely to talk to Youth Workers.

·         The last meeting of the Committee heard the involvement of Youth Workers in the CSE Hub, would like to see how that role would be undertaken especially if there was a reduction in Youth Work.

·         Bradford would be the youngest City by 20/20 which would impact on the services provided by the Youth Service.

·         Further report was needed on what work was being undertaken to tackle CSE by community centres.

·         What steps were being undertaken to protect children in care who were placed out of area?

·         Consideration could be given to information on CSE being incorporated into parental classes.

In response to Members’ questions it was reported that:

·         All agencies involved would only be doing enough, when children no longer need supporting by the CSE Hub; more work needed to be undertaken around families and perpetrators.

·         Immense work was being undertaken by the Police compared to previous years; resources had been increased to historic team and the live investigation team.

·         The Insight Programme placed a greater emphasis on offenders recognising the impact of their actions and the harm caused to the victim and their families; perpetrators were referred to the Insight Programme, as an intervention by the Police if the Police were unable to prosecute and the alternative was no further action; it could also be used for sentenced individuals to undertake as part of their court order; the programme would initially only focus on low and medium risk cases.

·         The Barnardo’s NightWatch initiative aimed to raise awareness of child sexual exploitation by offering advice/guidance, support and training to business services and the general public; it was important to protect potential victims who were out there that needed protecting and perpetrators that needed arresting; the scheme was not just about stopping perpetrators in locations but helped to gather intelligence; hotels would not allow a perpetrator to book a room and provided information to the Police.

·         The Police focussed on areas where victims were concentrated; the work was reviewed regularly and grading was given to areas such as high, medium and low and more focus was placed on high priority areas.

·         A letter from the Safeguarding Board had been sent to Sports Clubs on how victims could report crimes of CSE – all agencies were working proactively and going as far as possible in keeping Bradford Children Safe.

·         The Police and other agencies were doing work with members of the public on how people could protect their children online and enforcing the importance of parents watching their children.

·         The “Fragile” Project worked with women and girls in the BEM community to raise awareness of safeguarding issues, including CSE; another “Fragile” model was being set up to look with men and boys in the BEM community; a lot of work was being undertaken to inform all communities.

·         The increase in reported crimes could be due to changes on how crime was recorded as well as the fact that crime had increased nationally; it was encouraging that more crime was being reported.

·         There was a lot of work being undertaken with Youth Workers in the CSE Hub; better sharing of information was being undertaken with Youth Workers.

·         When a child was moved out of the area they were still the responsibility of this authority; the authority worked robustly with agencies and people the child was in care with.

The Portfolio Holder for Health and Wellbeing stated that comments made by the Committee including protecting youth workers would be taken on board.

In a response to a Member’s question, the Police representative stressed that members of the public should continue to report activity they see as being suspicious.

Resolved -

That a further report be presented to the Committee in six months time on:

• How successful the raising awareness campaign on CSE is
• What work was being undertaken to ensure young males did not become potential CSE perpetrators.

ACTION:       Strategic Director, Children’s Services