Agenda item

The paper seeks to assure the Panel that relevant policies, procedures and strategies recognise and address exploitation and furthermore sets out examples of the services and programmes commissioned to support children, young people and adults with care and support needs.   

Rob Fortune, Avon & Somerset Police introduced this report to the Panel and summarised some key points from within it.

Child sexual exploitation involves situations, contexts or relationships in which a person under 18 is given something, such as food, accommodation, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, affection, gifts or money in return for performing sexual activities or having sexual activities performed on them. It can also involve violence, coercion and intimidation, with threats of physical harm or humiliation

Avon and Somerset Constabulary response to Child sexual exploitation is Operation Topaz. Topaz is a perpetrator disruption team enabling the Force to proactively protect the highest risk child sexual exploitation victims by developing opportunities to disrupt suspects. Topaz recognises that disrupting suspects is often the most effective way of safeguarding victims of child sexual exploitation.

The Topaz Victim Contact / Engagement Officer works alongside victims to build relationships and gather information to enable well-informed safeguarding and disruption. The focus is on supporting victims to enable the capture of an evidential account, intelligence gathering and safeguarding; working alongside the Topaz Disruption Officer to disrupt perpetrators and locations.

Across Bristol, B&NES and South Gloucestershire about 150 perpetrators are flagged to Topaz and potentially posing a risk of CSE and about 200 children are flagged as being at risk.

The current figures for children and young people that are at risk of or are being criminally exploited in B&NES is 69 and children and young people at risk of or are being sexually exploited is 57; there is some overlap with these figures as some children will appear in both groups.

As a result of some of the findings from Operation Button it was agreed that Requests for Service pertaining to CSE would be referred to our MASH (Multi- Agency Safeguarding Hub) this enables a more integrated approach and a greater understanding of the risks. 13 young people have been progressed through our MASH processes to ensure that their needs are being adequately met.

B&NES has developed a frontline response for young people who are at risk and victims of CSE. Through the development of the Willow Project CSE victims are offered support dependent on their level of need. The Willow Project is a multi-agency/multi-disciplinary virtual made up of professionals who have been trained to work with young people at risk of or involved in lower level CSE.

The professionals within the team remain employed within their substantive post and then commit half a day per week to working within the Willow Project. The aim of the project is to support, advocate and provide time to potential victims of CSE.

The Modern Slavery Act 2015 define the criminal offence of slavery servitude and forced or compulsory labour (section 1) and the separate criminal offence of human trafficking. This might include labour exploitation, sexual exploitation, criminal exploitation, organ trafficking and forced marriage. Modern Slavery is not the same as illegal immigration or people smuggling. It is characterised by elements of violence, intimidation, deception, coercion, abduction and threat.

Avon and Somerset Constabulary work hard to safeguard vulnerable individuals and or children suspected of being victims of slavery. In 2017 an investigation by Avon and Somerset Constabulary and Staffordshire Police unravelled a human trafficking operation in the city of Bath. Young Vietnamese teenagers were shipped across the country and forced to work without wages, in poor conditions in nail bars. Three people – including a woman from Bath – were jailed in January 2018 following the first successful prosecution in the UK for exploitation and enforced child labour, under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

County Lines National Definition - a term used to describe gangs and organised criminal networks involved in exporting illegal drugs into one or more importing areas (within the UK), using dedicated mobile phone lines or other form of “deal line”. They are likely to exploit children and vulnerable adults to move (and store) the drugs and money and they will often use coercion, intimidation, violence (including sexual violence) and weapons.

Councillor Liz Hardman said that this section of the report was very much focussed on Bath.  She commented that she was aware of two drugs raids in Paulton and of County Lines, yet paragraph 3.4.2 makes no mention of this.  She asked what was happening in North East Somerset.

Rob Fortune apologised and said the heading for that section should have read Bath & North East Somerset.

Not all Lines are active at any given time; the business model they use enables them to be very adaptable and fluid in nature.  At present the number of County Lines operating in B&NES is lower than Avon and Somerset Constabulary have previously seen and Avon and Somerset Constabulary believe this is a reflection of the targeted work that the local Neighbourhood Policing Team and Intelligence teams have conducted.

Ongoing operations to tackle County Line issues are continually taking place and disruption and enforcement with partners are continually being advanced. Positive action has had a considerable impact on the communities of B&NES and has safeguarded countless persons being exploited.

Kevin Burnett stated that he felt that this report should be shared with all Corporate Parents.

The Corporate Director agreed with this proposal.

The Panel RESOLVED to note the content of the report which provided assurance that the B&NES Community Safety and Safeguarding Partnership have a clear focus and overview of exploitation activity in its broadest sense across B&NES and have policies and procedures in place.

The Chairman thanked Rob Fortune for his attendance on behalf of the Panel.