Agenda item

The report provides the Panel with an overview of the activity the Police and Crime Commissioner is undertaking, in relation to tackling child sexual exploitation (CSE).

The Panel is asked to note and comment on the content of the report.

27.     The Panel considered a report by the Commissioner that provided an overview of the activity the Commissioner was undertaking in relation to tackling child sexual exploitation (CSE)

28.     Michael Jones declared a personal interest as a member of the Safer Crawley Partnership.

29.     The Chief Executive of the OSPCC introduced the report and highlighted the following points:

·         CSE was now a national Strategic Policing Requirement and was recognised as a very complex area including a large number of crimes and activities.

·         The Commissioner was in constant liaison with the Chief Constable to be briefed on the work being done by Sussex Police to understand the local problem profile and what action plan was being put in place.

·         Sussex Police were leading on an assessment of ‘what the picture looks like for Sussex’, recognising the importance of multi-agency working and with the intention of creating a new Pan-Sussex Safeguarding Structure.

·         Brighton and Hove was a pilot area for the ‘See Me, Hear Me’ initiatives.

30.      The Chairman recognised the serious and complex nature of the issue and confirmed that the Panel’s role would be to monitor the work of the Commissioner, whilst recognising that this was a much wider issue affecting multiple partners across the region.

31.     The Panel raised the following issues with the Commissioner:

·         Asked if the trust young people have in the police was an issue that affected the number of CSE related crimes that were reported and if any work would be undertaken to increase young people’s confidence in the police. The Commissioner confirmed that Brighton was one of three pilot areas for the See Me, Hear Me initiative that would be carried out over two years, look specifically at child exploitation. The work and evaluation were being underpinned by the University of Sussex to help create clear outcomes on best practice. Any learning would be disseminated across Sussex immediately through the Pan-Sussex Domestic Abuse and Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Group. The Panel asked if the data from the pilot would distinguish between new and historic crimes. The Commissioner advised that the evaluation criteria would be set by the Office of Child Commissioner. The Chief Executive advised that in the last year approximately 4,000 crimes had been reported that linked to CSE. Of these, 40% had been reported within one month of occurring and 4% of the crimes were classed as historic  (having occurred up to 25 years ago).

·         Questioned whether the increased media coverage of CSE had resulted in a large number of historic cases being reported to Sussex Police and what impact this was having on resources. The Commissioner confirmed that part of the precept increase over the last two years had been used to increase funding in this area. A serious and Sexual Offence Unit had been established, constituting of 36 officers and the Commissioner would be constantly reviewing the resourcing in place to ensure it was adequate. The Panel welcomed the addition of the Sexual Offence Liaison Officers (SOLOs) and asked what additional support is provided to victims following court cases, recognising that the increased number of cases was putting a strain on voluntary organisations. The Commissioner confirmed that an additional £250k had been invested in Specialist Advisors and that she would continue to monitor the capacity of post-court specialist services across Sussex.

·         Asked what the timetable would be for the development of an action plan and when it would be completed. The Chief Executive confirmed that a lot of work was currently being undertaken. The Safeguarding Boards all had action plans in place. The Sussex Police Action Plan would look at what additional work was required to enable resources to be targeted accordingly. The majority of risk has been identified as local cases, e.g. ‘sexting’ and therefore a campaign was already underway to work with schools to education pupils of the risk, including the production of a video ‘Charlotte’s Story’.

·         Asked how residents/communities with concerns of suspected CSE activity can report this. The Commissioner advised that residents should use the 101 service of Crimestoppers if they wished to remain anonymous. Reporting was included in the See Me, Hear Me pilot and so it would be interesting to await the outcome of that. The Panel highlighted that the 101 system was not always the most straightforward for residents to use and suggested that a dedicated local number could be explored as a potential option.

·         The Panel recognised the increased responsibility of schools and asked what the Safeguarding Boards were doing to ensure that schools were adhering to the safeguarding principles. The Commissioner confirmed that she regularly met with the Chairmen of the three Boards and school activity was monitored.

·         Asked what work was done to help tackle organised CSE crime and whether anything further needed to be done to help ensure sufficient evidence was gathered and children were suitably informed. The Commissioner confirmed that work was on-going with local authorities on the organised crime aspect. A pilot site would be run in Sussex, in collaboration with Surrey, to run through a test case to see how all the organisations work together and establish any key learning.

·         Asked whether any work was being done to focus on potential problem areas, for example host families for language schools and home-to-school transport. The Commissioner agreed to raise these as potential problem areas.

·         Queried what work would be carried out beyond September 2015, as outlined in the Work Programme in Appendix 3 of the papers. The Commissioner advised that the work programme focussed on the work of the CSE analyst and that Local Authorities will be invited to help continue the work beyond September.

32.      The Chairman thanked the Commissioner for the report and answers to the Panel’s questions and recognised the importance of the Panel keeping up to date as the work progresses.

33.       Resolved – that the Panel notes the reports.