Skip to content
Hooded child on bench

Child Sexual Exploitation
(CSE) Taskforce

The Child Sexual Exploitation Taskforce

The Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) Taskforce was established in 2023 to enhance the policing response to group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse, and works with partners to improve:

• How we prepare our response to threat

• How we protect children from exploitation and abuse

• How we prevent group-based child sexual exploitation

• How we pursue those that perpetrate crimes and bring more offenders to justice.

In doing so we work to increase the confidence of both victims and survivors, and the wider public in the policing approach to tackling child sexual exploitation and abuse.

The Hydrant Programme lead the CSE Taskforce and are supported by two other national policing programmes, the Tackling Organised Exploitation (TOEX) Programme and the Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme (VKPP). All are uniquely placed to offer support, advice and guidance to police forces, partners and stakeholders working in child protection and abuse investigation.

"We must remember that at the heart of everything we do are victims and survivors . Every statistic and every headline represents a person who has endured unimaginable abuse and exploitation. Their voices must be heard, and their experiences must shape our strategies and policies as we move forward, fully dedicated to change, education, and progress."
ACC Becky Riggs
National Police Chiefs' Council Lead for Child Protection

From 2023 to 2024 the CSE Taskforce...

  • Untitled 14

    Identified 4228 group-based offending child sexual abuse and exploitation crimes.

  • Untitled 15

    Identified 6670 suspects and 4422 victims on the Complex and Organised Child Abuse Database.

  • Untitled 16

    Supported 26 cases, providing dedicated intelligence and expertise from the The Tackling Organising Exploitation Programme (TOEX).

  • Untitled 17

    Conducted 50 Peer Review and Debrief sessions.

  • Untitled 18

    Provided specialist training to 449 police officers.

  • Untitled 19

    Worked with 80 partner organisations, spanning across sporting bodies, faith groups, advocacy groups and youth groups.