Latest campaign comes to an end but members of the public are encouraged to continue to Look Again

FORCEWIDE

Whilst our Look Again campaign is officially coming to an end, we want to remind people that the message to look out for the signs of child criminal and sexual exploitation and report any concerns to us remains important.

Over the course of the last four weeks, we have been sharing messages across a wide variety of platforms including social media, digital screens, buses across the force area, and through Spotify audio advertising as well as Snapchat, encouraging people to look out for the signs of exploitation.

Do you notice something about someone’s relationship that might be unhealthy or inappropriate?

Does someone appear to be acting more distant and showing signs of being controlled?

Do you see the same group of teenagers regularly going missing or skipping school?

There are many questions we can ask, and we are encouraging you to do exactly that if you spot any of the signs of exploitation.

Local and national evidence shows that child exploitation can take place in hotels, pubs, takeaways, places licensed to sell alcohol, and exploiters or those involved are also more likely to use taxi firms to travel to and from these different places. So we’ve also been working closely with partners, local authorities and local businesses to spread the message far and wide, and support people in knowing what they need to do to report any suspicions or concerns.

Leading the campaign is Inspector Nathan Reuben from our Protecting Vulnerable People Unit responsible for the Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, and Child Sexual Exploitation teams.

Insp Reuben said: “This has been a brilliant opportunity for us to share information with the public and local businesses and continue to work closely with our partners to raise awareness of child sexual and criminal exploitation and the importance of reporting information to us.

“When we get this information, we use it to build up the bigger picture so that we can fully understand the situation and any offences that are being committed. We then put a full evidence package together, enabling us to put offenders before the courts.

“Whilst we always act immediately to safeguard and protect vulnerable victims, sometimes the wider activity might not be immediately evident to the public or even the person who has reported the information to us.

“But I would like to offer my reassurance that the information that we get from the public is always investigated and is often essential to help us tackle exploitation.

“We want to give our communities the confidence to report their concerns or suspicions to us, knowing that they will be taken seriously, and we will do everything we can to disrupt and deter potential exploiters, and prevent young people from being exploited in the first place.

“Child Sexual Exploitation can be hard to identify because it often happens behind closed doors and victims and suspects do not fit any particular stereotype, but there are indicators and behaviours that members of the public, professionals, family members, friends, or businesses might spot.

“A child who is being exploited might not recognise themselves as a victim. They might go missing from home or education, or be attending hotels, unfamiliar locations, or making unusual journeys that are not explained. We are asking people to be curious and question these things, reporting it to us if you have suspicions that that person may be being exploited.”

For more information about the campaign.

If you have any concerns or information about child sexual or criminal exploitation call 101 quoting Operation Makesafe.

Alternatively, you can call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

In an emergency always dial 999.

Signs of a child or young person being in an exploitative relationship can vary. Some examples are:

• going missing from home or care
• physical injuries
• misuse of drugs or alcohol
• involvement in offending
• repeat sexually transmitted infections, pregnancies or terminations
• absenteeism from school
• deterioration in physical appearance
• evidence of online sexual bullying
• evidence of vulnerability on social networking sites
• emotional distance from family members
• receiving gifts from unknown sources
• recruiting others into exploitative situations
• poor mental health
• self-harming
• thinking about or attempting suicide