The New year certainly began in a way that was unexpected for many who work across child protection.  Now we’ve had a moment to take a breath and process an eventful few weeks, here’s an update on what the team has been busy progressing behind the scenes.

1. On 16 January, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper gave an update on the actions the government will take to protect young people from sexual abuse and grooming gangs. Two elements of this announcement will be progressed by the CSE Taskforce. They are:

• Extending the remit of the independent Child Sexual Abuse Review Panel so it covers not just non-recent cases before 2013, but all cases since so that any victim of abuse will have the right to seek an independent review without having to go back to the local institutions who decided not to proceed with their case.
  
  
• Police forces in England and Wales will be asked to look again at non-recent gang exploitation cases where ‘No Further Action’ was taken and re-open investigations where appropriate.

2. Our Deputy Director, Pete Hornby and our Peer Review and Peer Support (PRPS) team, led by Rob have been as busy as ever supporting police forces. Already this year, they have provided our peer support service to several teams- supporting them in real time with live investigations. They have also continued to deliver training sessions across the country to officers of all roles and ranks. Services are provided free of charge.

3. The Research and Analysis team are currently working closely with Home Office colleagues and other agencies across law enforcement to progress data collection plans which will enhance our understanding of the scale, nature and threat of child sexual abuse and exploitation. This is really exciting, innovative work and we’ll bring more news on this when we can. 

4. Our Deputy Director, Pete and Partnerships Manager, Tracey attended the NSPCC Together for Childhood learning event in Plymouth. This has been running for seven years and is focuses on a public health response to Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (CSAE), with heavy emphasis on diversion. A productive event for all who attended.

5. Finally, we have had meetings with Avon and Somerset police colleagues to talk about their brilliant Operation Night Light work in more detail and consider future opportunities to collaborate.

As you can see, it has been a busy few weeks. We’re looking forward to sharing more with you soon.

To find our more about Night Light, Avon and Somerset Police have a great article you can read here: https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/news/2024/06/the-team-shining-a-light-on-night-time-exploitation-and-harm/

To find out more about the NSPCC and their work visit: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/